


The Sun Will Come Up

by Darky_Parky



Series: Dark Before Dawn [1]
Category: Who Killed Markiplier? (Web Series)
Genre: A LOT of Angst, Angst, Awkward ConversationsTM, Betrayal, But also some cute moments, DEMONS JIM!, Damien is a literal angel, F/M, Gen, I need sleep, I'm trying my best, Murder, RUN JIM!, Romantic Moments, demons!, seriously what did we do to deserve him?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-16 20:42:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13061778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darky_Parky/pseuds/Darky_Parky
Summary: A woman by the name of Dawn Samson is invited to a poker night at an old friend's place, planning only to stay the night. But when the host is found dead she is thrown into a series of very unfortunate events.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is basically a rewrite of Who Killed Markiplier. I hope it's okay.
> 
> I do not own any of these characters or Who Killed Markiplier. Those rights go to Team Iplier and Team Iplier alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to confirm that I go over just about everything in WKM in this book. So, what I would suggest is get your friends who aren't willing to watch WKM have them read this. Trust me, I've done this and it's so much fun.  
> Anyway, continue the scrolling and enjoy my tale.

Dawn Samson, a beautiful young lady with gorgeous green eyes and a pointed nose. She is the daughter of Kerrigan Samson - an old man that has done everything he can for his only daughter. And it paid off, as of now she is a young millionairess with a mind as beautiful as herself. 

She has just received an invitation to a poker night at Markiplier Manor. She didn't even have to read the letter all the way through to be overwhelmed with joy. It has been so long since she had been invited to poker night at the manor.

To prepare for the night she put as much product as possible in her curly red hair. And she considered covering up her freckles with makeup, but realized that she was going to be with friends who didn't think they were unsightly. She then threw on her champagne satin cocktail dress and her matching heels. 

After packing up some clothes to wear the day after she called for her family's driver. She soon left with a quick goodbye to her father and a promise to return as soon as possible.

Dawn felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of the manor. The home of the Markiplier. It has been quite some time since she had seen it, seeing it now brought back so many memories. Dawn stepped out of the family car and handed the driver a five dollar bill.

"Go buy yourself something nice." The driver smiled brightly at the redhead.

"Thank you, miss!" And he drove off still with a large smile on his face.

Dawn took one good look at the mansion and sighed happily. She made her way toward the entrance and saw the Colonel examining the oak doors quite carefully.

The Colonel was another old friend of the wealthy woman. He was a very strange man with a very strange past. He absolutely adored a good hunt and is always out for more. The last time that Dawn had seen him was. . . well. . . there is no point to talk about that right now. Now was the time to relax, be happy, and catch up with friends. Speaking of which. . .

"William!" Dawn exclaimed.

The Colonel turned around to greet Dawn with a joyful grin and open arms.

"Bully!" The two embraced each other tightly for a brief moment before pulling away from each other. William grasped her hand and shook it thoroughly. "It's been too long, old friend!"

"Far too long! How have you been? Have you found the most dangerous game yet?" The Colonel placed his hands on his hips and looked down at his boots.

"Ah, afraid not. But, I will soon. Now, how have **you** been? How are you and Damien?" William wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Have you two been trying to get a bun in that oven of yours?" The Colonel laughed. "Wink, wink. Nudge, nudge."

Dawn put up her hands and shook her head profusely. "Oh, no, no, no, Will, we broke up ages ago." William's smirk fell.

"Well, then who's courting you now?"

"No one. I've been living with my father ever since." William frowned.

"Oh, I'm very sorry." Dawn laughed nervously.

"It's alright, Damien and I ended on. . .  **decent** terms." The two stood in awkward silence for what felt like forever before the Colonel finally spoke again.

"Well, I think that's enough awkward chit-chat." William opened one of the large doors, causing warmth and light to spill out. "After you."

Dawn smiled gratefully as she stepped inside the manor. But, instead of feeling that sort of warm "at home" feeling she always had with the mansion she felt a sort of cold presence. A random shiver ran down her spine as eerily cool air brushed pass her. Odd. Very odd.

The butler soon approached Dawn to assist her.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle! Welcome to Markiplier Manor. Your invitation?" Dawn pulled out her folded up invitation from the depths of her purse and handed it over to the butler. The butler smiled. "Very good, very good. Right this way." The butler lead the millionairess over to the mayor and a man that she had never seen before. The two were seemingly engrossed in a conversation. "Go on and mingle with the rest of the guests while I go fetch you a drink." The butler then retreated into the dining room that lead to the kitchen. This left Dawn with the mayor and the mystery guest.

To avoid anymore awkward encounters Dawn went to escape to the nearest room. And she was right at the doorway when Damien finally noticed her.

"Dawn? Dawn Samson?" Dawn turned around slowly with a forced smile on her face.

"Damien. . . how good it is to see you. . . ." Damien laughed and held her in a tight hug.

"I've missed you so much!" He soon departed to show that he was positively glowing. "How have you been?"

"Great. . . just great." Damien's joyous smile faded ever so slowly as he realized Dawn's lack of gleefulness. He pressed his lips into a thin line and took a step back to give Dawn some space. He stared down at his cane that he was clutching anxiously.

He let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I know that things between us have not been. . . the greatest." Dawn looked down at her feet, fiddling with her hands as she looked back at the night of the break up. "But that doesn't mean we shouldn't have fun. At least for one night." The millionairess looked back up at the mayor and smiled faintly.

"I guess you're right." Damien patted her on the shoulder.

"That's the spirit!" Damien headed toward the room where the game will be held. "Now, I'll see you at the table soon, but try not to rob me blind again." Damien shot her a wink before turning to the guest he was just speaking to, whispering something to him. Then he looked back to Dawn. "We'll catch up." Damien and the guest left without another word.

Dawn turned around in hopes to see the Colonel, but he wasn't there. She shrugged, he must have wandered off somewhere. This was not unusual for William, he's always on the look out for the next adventure.

Becoming lonesome, Dawn went into the dining room after the butler to see if he had her drink yet. She didn't see the butler, but she did see a scary looking chef.

"If you're looking for some hors d'oeuvres, I'll get 'em when I feel like it!" Dawn flinched at his sudden anger.

"Okay. . ." she muttered as the chef began making his leave into the kitchen. He turned around suddenly, swinging his ladle threateningly.

"You say something?" Dawn shook her head.

"No, no. Nothing."

"Alright then." The chef turned around once more to exit the dining room before deciding to give the millionairess one last threatening statement. "And stay out of my kitchen!"

"Now, now." Dawn turned her head over to the butler entering with a tray of drinks. She hastily walked over to the butler, acting as if she was getting her drink when she was really just keeping distance. "Let's not make a bad impression on our guest." The chef finally let Dawn be. She let out a small sigh of relief. "I'm terribly sorry about that." She smiled halfheartedly.

"It's quite alright. When you're friends with someone like the Colonel you are used to being threatened with much worse things." The butler gave a soft chuckle as he handed her a champagne glass.

"Your champagne, miss." The butler wiggled his eyebrows. "Enjoy your evening." The way the butler had said that made the millionairess feel very uncomfortable. She looked down at her glass and considered if it was safe to drink it or not.

"Welcome, welcome, one and all!" Dawn looked up to see the one, the only Markiplier, draped in a red robe with his hair slicked back, walking down the steps of the staircase. Dawn smiled from ear to ear. It has been ever so long since she had seen him.

The rest of the guests began to gather around the staircase with smiles on their faces and glasses of champagne in hand. "My name is Markiplier. Thank you for joining me on this auspicious evening. So good to be surrounded by such close and trusted friends. Now, this evening, it not all about the poker. It's not all about me."

"That's a first," quipped the mystery guest causing the group to erupt into laughter.

After the group had settled down Mark continued his speech. "It's about you. So drink up and be merry! Life is for the living! And who knows? I could be dead tomorrow." Mark laughed madly as the group cheered and lifted their glasses. The men of the group tipped up their glasses and downed the champagne. Dawn, however, was still skeptical about her drink. She stared down at the glass once more before saying:

"To hell with it." She lifted the glass to her lips and let the drunken good times roll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed chapter 1! Sorry that there isn't any real death and despair just yet, I'll get to that real soon ;)  
> Also, don't be afraid to criticize my work. I really do enjoy your tips on how I can improve.


	2. The Morning After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after. There is nothing fun about the morning after a whole night of partying hard, especially when somebody has died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy, here comes the unfortunate events I was talking about.

The infernal ringing of the alarm woke Dawn from her slumber. She slowly opened her eyes to see that it was 8:30 a.m. Dawn squinted and groaned as she turned the alarm off with a small tap. She sat up and stretched, she looked down at the pillow and grimaced at the sight of her smeared makeup. She flipped over the pillow and hoped it won't be too bad of a mess.

"Uh, Dawn?" Dawn looked over to the bathroom to see the door opened and the light on, but she couldn't see who it was.

". . . Yeah?"

"Do you perhaps have anything to get rid of this makeup?" Out came Damien in his dress shirt and vest with mascara and red lipstick smeared on his face. Dawn was too tired to question why Damien was in the room and why he had makeup on his face. She merely pointed a finger to her purse that was dangling from a hook on the door.

"There should be some wipes in my bag," she said as she attempted to rub the sleep out of her eye.

"Ah, thank you." He walked over to the bag and fished out the wipes, he went back into the bathroom to clean himself up. "Dawn, I must say, you were quite the little monster last night."

"Mhm."

"I haven't seen you become that wild since our days in university." Dawn mused at the wondrous times of university. They were all so young and arrogant back then. "It seems like you were holding back for a while. Feels good to let the beast out every once in a while, eh?" Dawn chuckled as she clutched the side of her aching head.

"Sure, but it does come with a price." Damien emerged once again from the bathroom with no more makeup and his hair slicked back. He was currently throwing on his jacket.

"Ah, alcohol, such a cruel substance."

"You can say that again." Then it finally hit Dawn, she looked toward Damien with wide eyes. She instinctively grabbed the sheets and pulled it to her clothed chest. "Damien! What are you doing in here?" Damien put his hands up in defense.

"Nothing happened, I assure you. When Abe knocked you out I carried you upstairs to put you to bed. But, I myself ended up passing out as well." Dawn relaxed a bit but still held the sheets close to her chest.

"Uh. . . well, thank you."

"You're welcome." There was a long pause which Damien took to redress. "You know, the night was fun and everything, but. . . what  **were** we celebrating?" 

"Well, we were-" Dawn cut herself off. "What  **were** we celebrating?"

"I mean, it was great to have the gang back together, but out of the blue. . . ." Damien searched for the right words, but he brushed it off as he attached his "Mayor" button to his lapel. "Now's not the time to be conspiratorial. Life is ours to choose, as I always say." Damien tied his bow tie around his neck. "I have some work to finish up." Damien picked up his white rose that occupied his other lapel and handed it to Dawn. "I'll see you at breakfast. Right?" Dawn looked down at the rose and thought about her plans of leaving in the morning and how worried her father might be. But, then she looked to Damien and his warming smile.

"Uh. . . yeah! Yeah, definitely." Dawn will just have to tell the driver to come back later.

Damien smiled sweetly as he grabbed his cane. "Great. I'll see you then." Damien went to leave, but stopped in the doorway to say one last thing to the millionairess. "We'll all catch up soon."

"That sounds great." Dawn didn't know, but she was smiling like a sappy happy dope as Damien left.

* * *

After Dawn had a quick shower and a change of clothes. She placed the white rose on the dresser and finally walked out of the bedroom where she was soon greeted by the butler. He had a tray in his hand with a glass of a milky white substance sitting atop of it.

"Good morning, Miss Samson. I have taken the liberty of preparing a seltzer with a sprinkle of cocaine." The butler handed her the glass which Dawn took to be polite. "Best thing for the morning after if you ask me." The butler shot her a wink before walking off.

Dawn looked down at the glass and she was hit with a dose of memories from the night before. She could still hear the music and see the blinding lights. Dawn grimaced; she looked around for any sign of the butler and dumped the contents of the glass into a nearby plant then set down the glass. Dawn then strolled off nonchalantly toward the staircase. The millionairess made a very slow descent down the stairs, taking in every sophisticated sight of the mansion. Mark really does have a good taste in modern art.

Dawn paused at the very bottom of the staircase to run her finger over a carved mural. If there is one thing that Dawn has learned throughout her life it is to enjoy the little things while you can.

The millionairess moved on from the mural and passed by a statue of mid evil armor. She turned the corner and was soon met by Mark who was laying down on the ground, dead. Dawn jumped back at least a foot and let out a blood curdling scream. It was so loud that it almost overcame the thunder that had just cracked outside.

In came the Detective in a bathrobe.

"What was that scream all about?" Dawn grabbed Abe's arm and pointed to the body.

"M-m-m-m-"

"Murder!" Thunder punctuated the Detective's exclaim.

The Millionairess turned to him with a much calmer expression. "Actually, I was going to say 'Mark', but-" The Butler pushed the two aside so that he may see what was going on.

"Now what is this commotion all about - My God, there's been a murder!" The Chef entered right after the third lightning strike, pushing the Detective and the Millionairess aside more forcefully.

"Did you -? MURDER!" Dawn clamped her hands over her ears at the hideous screech of the Chef. She dared to say it was louder than her own scream. It completely masked the sound of the fourth crack of thunder.

The Detective grabbed Dawn by the shoulders. "What the hell happened here? Who's in charge here?" Dawn's eyes widened with fear.

"L-look, A-A-Abe, I'm sur-sure we can sort-sort this ou-out. If we all jus-just-" Abe mimicked a sound of a buzzer.

"Wrong! It's that guy." The Detective pointed down at Mark's body. "And he's dead now, putting me in charge."

"Who says that you're in charge?" asked the Chef.

"I do! Now y'all better listen up good. 'Case you haven't been paying attention, there's been a bit of a killin'." The group looked around the room expectantly, waiting for the fifth lighting strike, but none came. "And little miss priss here is my prime suspect!" Dawn swallowed hard. "I suggest that you start straightening out your alibi or else you're going away for a very long time."

"Sir, the body is cold. There's no way that Ms. Samson could have possibly killed him before we came in." Dawn smiled gratefully toward the Butler.

The Detective laughed, causing Dawn to feel very uneasy. "A likely story. Which I totally believe." Dawn let out a small breath of relief as the Detective released her from his grip. "All right, you're off the hook for now, but since I'm the detective-"

"Oh yeah? Prove you're a real dick!" demanded the Chef.

The Detective pulled out his wallet with a bit of reluctance. He opened it up to the Chef. "Here's my badge. Asshole." Abe then showed the Millionairess his badge as well, accidentally revealing multiple photos of him with a variety of men. The photos all strung together had to be at least a foot long. "Ah, sorry. Those are my old partners," he explained as he folded up the photos back into their original place. "Don't ask me about them."

"Okay-"

"Fine! You've twisted my arm! I'll tell you! So demanding. . . ." Dawn didn't really remember Abe being this strange. But, then again, she didn't really remember a lot of things from last night. "Each one of them died. Each one more tragic than the last. A few of them died in ironically hilarious ways." Dawn looked over to the Chef who mirrored the same sort of horrified/weirded out expression with her. "Those few occasions made it all the more tragic. But, hey, you're pretty, you're rich, and you just went through a traumatic experience. I say you're up to the task. You're my new partner." 

Dawn looked down at the ground and thought of an excuse to avoid becoming one of the Detective's next victims. "Um, how do I put this lightly?" she murmured before looking back up at Abe with a small smile. "Listen, I would  **love** to be your partner but. . . I don't have a death wish."

Abe chuckled. "That's what all my old partners used to say." He grimaced. "Right before they died." Dawn shared one last petrified glance with the Chef. "All right. Hand me that fingerprinting kit,  _partner_ ," he asked with a wink.

Dawn sighed heavily, knowing there was no way out of this. She turned around and grabbed the kit then handed it to the Detective. 

It was going to be a  _ **long**_ day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was kinda short, but I need my sleep.  
> Also, happy holidays everyone!


	3. The Investigation

It took over an hour to set up the crime scene, mostly because of Abe's ridiculous forms of procrastination. The only thing more absurd was that Abe never used the fingerprinting kit throughout the entire process

Abe picked up the kit and looked over to the redhead with a smile. "Thanks, partner." He tossed the kit aside carelessly causing Dawn to roll her eyes. She ducked under the tape to join the Detective in his inspection of Mark's body. Abe knelt down and lifted up the sheet to examine the body.

Damien entered the living room, his eyebrows furrowed. "What the hell happened here?" The Millionairess looked over the Mayor suspiciously. He was gone for an awful amount of time. And he has acted like he has not heard all of the commotion. But, in his defense it is a big mansion.

"Oh! Mr. Mayor. I'm so sorry. There's been a murder." The fifth lighting strike hit the grounds of the manor.

"A murder?" Damien echoed, causing another lightning strike. "Who?" Dawn frowned and looked about the group.

"Who wants to tell him?"

"It's Mark," Chef said in a surprisingly calm tone.

"I'm afraid he's telling the truth," said the Detective. "Mark's been. . . killed."

Dawn looked up at Damien's distraught face. She felt overwhelming pity wash over her. Damien has known Mark since he was a child. This must be absolutely heartbreaking.

"Why? Who would do this?"

"That's exactly what me and my new partner are trying to find out."

"Um, excuse me. I feel like we should call the authorities for them to handle the matter." Dawn nodded in agreement with the Butler.

"That actually sounds great, I mean, we're not qua-"

"Look, buddy, as far as you're concerned, I am the authorities." The Detective pulled out his badge once more, showing it to the Butler. "The fact of the matter is, I believe the killer is here in this very house. With that freaky lightning storm outside none of us would get very far anyway." 

Dawn felt as if she was in a Agatha Christie novel, a very absurd one at that. "So, we're stuck here for the time being. But I'm gonna get to the bottom of this. The rest of you, get back to your rooms and get comfortable because we're gonna be here a while."

"I. . . I need to check on our other guests," said the Butler before he ducked out of the crime scene.

"I'll get back to cooking. All this death made me hungry," declared the Chef before exiting the room. This left a very distraught Mayor, the Millionairess, and the Detective. Dawn ducked out of the crime scene so that she could get closer to Damien.

He was staring down at Mark, paying no attention to the Millionairess. "Damien?" He did not respond. Dawn placed a hand on his shoulder to grab his attention. Damien's eyes flickered up to her for just enough time for her to ask: "Are you okay?" Damien looked back down, his eyes seeming to be glued to Mark's body.

"I. . . I-I need to talk to the Colonel about this." Damien abandoned Dawn. She went to go after him, but was stopped by the Detective.

"Don't go running off so soon. It's time to get to work." Dawn frowned, but complied. She reentered the crime scene and knelt down next to the body.

"What have you gathered, Detective?"

"Well, judging by the temperature of the body that I measured rectally-" Dawn furrowed her eyebrows. "What? That is obviously the most accurate way to get inner body temperature of a corpse. That is a fact. I totally went through training for that. Don't tell anyone I did it." The Millionairess began to question the Detective's professionalism. "I am sure Mark was killed around 1:30 a.m. last night." 

"How-"

"Hey! I'm the professional here. I know what's best. Now," Abe got to his feet and pointed down at Dawn accusingly. "Where were you at exactly 1:30 a.m. last night?"

Dawn knitted her eyebrows together as she concentrated on her hazy memories of the night before. "Um. . . I was. . . ." The excruciatingly loud music began to play in her head. She sees Damien, hovering over her, worried. She then sees Damien carrying bridal style upstairs and being gently placed down on a bed. Beside her is the clock that says it is 1:29 a.m. There is a shift in the bed, most likely Damien passing out beside her. And she stared at the clock for what felt like forever before finally going to sleep at exactly 1:35 a.m. "I was in bed at 1:30 a.m. I had my eyes opened."

She looked up to the Detective to see if he believed her. He was wearing a very judgmental expression. "I'm gonna ignore the strange fact that you sleep with your eyes opened."

"I never said that I-"

"Don't worry, I don't judge. Which is why I'm sending you out to judge for me." The Detective helped Dawn up to her feet.

"What?"

"We need to figure out where everyone was and what they were doing at that time or who saw Mark last. You need to get out there. See if you can piece together what happened last night." Dawn looked to the Detective in disbelief.

"And you're sending the person who can barely remember how she got here last night?"

"I need to stick with the body to run a few more. . ." Abe lifted two fingers to his nose, "tests." He then sniffed those fingers before kneeling down.

Dawn scrunched up her nose in disgust and left the living room as soon as possible. She was lead to the theater and she almost passed by it without a second thought until she heard Damien's voice.

"How can you be so flippant?" She stopped and poked her head into the doorway. Damien was standing in what Dawn assumed was in front of the Colonel. Damien had his hands wrapped tightly around his cane, it looked as though he was going to break it in half.

"Flippant?! I'm taking this matter very seriously," protested the Colonel.

"Oh, don't give me that bullshit! I know you. . . didn't like him, but-"

"I **hated** him."

"Whether you did or you didn't, he reached out to you! Goddamnit!" Dawn flinched at Damien's outburst. She has rarely seen him like that.

"What do you want from me?"

"I want you to care!"

"Just because I'm not sniveling like a child doesn't mean I don't care."

"I can't believe you. You come and find me when you pull your head out of your ass!" Damien went to storm off only to bump into Dawn. Dawn jumped back and put her hands up in defense. She had briefly forgotten of her spying.

"Da-Damien! I-I-I'm s-s-s-" 

"It's fine," he said bristly as he brushed pass the Millionairess. Dawn watched as he went. She sighed, she wanted to go after Damien, but she just knew that the William was more torn up about this than Damien. After all, he did grow up with Mark as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed chapter 3! I hope it wasn't too short and happy holidays!


	4. The Suspects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dawn is now interrogating the possible people who could have had something to do with Mark's death. Along the way she finds some things about the house that are just. . . not quite right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so long to write. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and I assure you more are to come!

Dawn entered the theater slowly with her hands up. The Colonel was truly a nice man, but you do  **not** want to sneak up on him or appear as a threat. Dawn has learned this from multiple experiences of almost being shot.

William was sitting in the corner, staring at the wall. He seemed to be contemplating something. "Damien, I don't-" he turned his head to see the redheaded woman. "Oh!" William stood up, grabbed Dawn's hand, and planted a kiss atop of it. He then patted her hand, a smile on his face. "Dawn, it's a delight to see you again. You were quite the little monster last night!" 

Dawn smiled politely. "Yes, but, Colonel-" Colonel's cheerful demeanor faltered slightly.

"You're here to help the Detective with his 'investigation of murder'-" He air quoted dramatically a thunderclap following his sentence soon after.

Dawn sighed. "I'm really getting sick of that," she murmured.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted!" he yelled to the thunder. He took a pause before speaking again. "You're here for the Detective, aren't you?"

"Yes, but, I'm also here for you if you-" The Colonel let out a hearty laugh.

"'Here for me', you really do know how to tickle my funny bone, Dawn." Dawn pursed her lips in a thin line and stiffened her posture.

"William, I am serious! Our friend is dead," she said in a much softer tone causing Colonel to cease his laughter. "And I know everyone's hurting, even you." The Colonel at times like these is never stable. If Dawn could calm him down it would make things a lot easier, for everyone.

"Dawn, there is no need to comfort me. I am fine." Dawn let out a low hum of concern. The Colonel grabbed her hand and patted it reassuringly. "I assure you. I am alright." Dawn let out a heavy sigh, knowing that she doesn't have the time to argue with him.

"Fine. I don't believe you. But I can't spend this time arguing. Just tell me about what you know."

"Alright, just for you, old friend, I'll tell you what happened to Mark." Dawn smiled gratefully.

"Good. Thank you."

"It all started at the poker table where Mark began rambling. 'Oh, look at me! My name is Markiplier now!'" the Colonel mocked. "'Forget all my friends or the people that helped me along the way; just look at my money!'"

Dawn couldn't tell if this was true or not, but either way this was hilarious. Especially with all of the Colonel's abstract movements. "'Oh, I need to pay people to be my friends! Ha ha ha! You like me? Too bad! Oh, glug glug! Oopsie poopsie! I can't hold my booze. Gotta go off to the little boys' room. Who wants to join me?'" The Millionairess was finding it harder and harder to not laugh as the Colonel went on. "'I'm gonna go there upon my stairs. My house has more than one staircase. Oh, look at me and how great I am! Oh no, I'm falling! Aaah, I'm dead.' And that's what happened. Probably, anyway."

Dawn took a moment to silently calm down before the Colonel noticed. She took in a deep breath and absorbed this information before coming up with her conclusion. This sounded like a load of bullshit and it was most likely a load of bullshit, but there's no way that Dawn could prove it. She'll have to get more information before making a true theory of what happened. "Ah, you have that look of doubt in your eye."

"Wait, what? No, no. . . I just think that, uh-"

"If you need to corroborate this story with anybody else, just be on your way and investigate the entire house. Don't worry, I'll be here when you're done." Dawn waved goodbye as she began to exit the theater.

"Alright, I'll see you, Colonel. And don't be afraid to pull me out of this investigation if you need something. I honestly encourage it."

"Sure, sure, go on, go play arousing game of clues." Dawn turned around to exit the theater to soon be greeted by the Butler.

"Come with me. I need to show you something." 

* * *

Dawn followed the Butler through the maze of the mansion and after a while it seemed to be like she was going on some sort of wild goose chase.

"Now, if you're looking for answers, there's really no mystery at all. There's not a single detail of this house that I'm not privy to, and not a single guest that I have not personally vetted." 

"Even me?"

"Especially you." Dawn grimaced as they approached a gate that guarded a basement. The Butler stopped suddenly in front of it, causing the Millionairess to jump back in surprise. "Now I warn you: what you are about to see is not for the faint of heart. A domain of evil this is. . . but in we must go. Are you ready, Ms. Samson?"

Dawn thought about this situation for a moment. The Butler who has been acting very suspicious throughout the entire time Dawn has been here and he is going to lead her to a very dark basement. A dark basement that he titles "a domain of evil". So far, this doesn't really look good.

But, not all butler's are guilty of murder of their masters. Just a good percentage of them are. 

Dawn took a deep inhale through her nose and reminded herself that she was doing this for Mark. Dawn nodded.

"I'm ready."

"Good." The Butler opened the gate and hastily took a step back. "You first." 

Dawn looked down at the dark abyss of the basement and swallowed hard. She closed her eyes and reminded herself of who she was doing this for. By doing this she missed a step and nearly fell, but luckily the Butler caught her by the wrist. "Careful, Ms. Samson! I would hate to have something bad to happen to you under my care. . ." he said quite suspiciously.

Dawn straightened herself up and laughed nervously. She then continued her descent down the stairs, slightly picking up speed due to the Butler.

A ringing becoming stronger with each step. She felt that strange chill again, she hugged herself, and rubbed her arms in a attempt to warm herself up. 

Dawn finally arrived at the very bottom of the basement to see that it was a wine cellar with two racks of expensive wine. But this didn't make it any less creepy. 

She felt as if someone - no, some **thing** was in there with her. Something cold - something sinister was getting closer with each passing second. The darkness of the wine cellar began to swallow up the little light that was in there, closing in on the poor Millionairess.

The hairs on her arms were standing up. Her chest tightening, her breathing becoming ragged, her heart hammering inside her chest. All the while fear was filling every part of her being. "Butler?" she called desperately. "Butler?!"

A small clink brought her back into reality. She looked down at her feet to see a broken bottle. She raised an eyebrow.

The Butler came rushing down the stairs with a dustpan and a brush. "AVERT YOUR EYES!" He pushed her back away from the bottle. "I'm so sorry you had to see this, Ms. Samson! It brings me great shame to know someone with such high estate witnessed such a tragedy!" He knelt down before the mess and began cleaning it up.

The darkness slowly retreating back into the shadowy corners of the room, but the cold still remained.

Dawn still scared and confused began to back away from the strange Butler. "Master would be so displeased! If only he were still alive!" Butler began to sob and Dawn took that as her cue to leave the basement. His sobs gradually fading away as she quickly ascended up the stairs.

* * *

The warmth returned as she hastily made her way toward the kitchen where the Chef was full bodily chopping some left overs. Dawn stopped in the doorway and watched as he did so. Her palms began to sweat and fear was filling her once again. She knew full well that she will have to interrogate the Chef and that was almost as terrifying as the wine cellar. 

The Millionairess took in a sharp inhale through her nose, straightened her back and made her way toward the scary Chef. She stopped about a foot away from him, but he didn't seem to notice the redheaded woman. She cleared her throat.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Chef-" The Chef turned to her suddenly, knife in hand.

"I thought I told you to stay out of my kitchen!" Dawn cowered away from him.

"I-I am awa-awa-aware. Bu-but I ha-have-have to ask-k-ask-"

"Oh. You're helping the dick with the investigation, huh?" Dawn nodded. "Well, I know what you're thinking. 'Such a sweet innocent man couldn't have done such a thing'." Dawn wondered where he got that from, but she didn't dare to question him. "But some people with short lifespans think otherwise. I don't really know why, do you?" he asked, waving his knife in the Millionairess' face.

She shook her head profusely. "Last night, after I got rid of all that evidence. . ." Dawn eyed the Chef with suspicion. ". . . Of that delicious meal I prepared," Dawn let out a small breath of relief, "and wiped down all the fingerprints. . . from those filthy dishes. And sopped up all that blood. . ." Dawn stared at the Chef expectantly, but he never finished that sentence which terrified her. "I went to my room at 1:00 a.m. and left my little buddy in charge, like I always do." He held the miniature statue of himself close and gave it a kiss on the cheek. "He sees everything. Why don't you ask him what happened last night?"

Dawn knitted her eyebrows together in confusion. "Ask him? But-"

"Look into his eyes. Look deep into his eyes." Dawn looked to the Chef like he was crazy, which he most likely was. The Chef stepped back so that Dawn will approach it. She looked in it's eyes expecting for just some painted on eyes to stare back at her, but instead she discovered behind it's eyes was footage. Dawn glanced up at the Chef in astonishment. "I said him not me!" Dawn looked back to Little Buddy and she leaned in so that she may get a better view of what was going behind it's eyes.

It showed the living room, it was dark and hard to see. But, it was safe to say that nobody was there. After a few seconds it soon switched to the hallway that lead to the living room. Nothing.

It then switched again to what looked like the same hallway from the view of corner in the ceiling. Nothing.

It switched once more to reveal a window with the shutters down, but she could see the Detective on the other side. Mark soon approached the Detective a moment later.

"Abe!" he greeted.

"Mark! Good to see ya." They shook hands before going into a very cryptic conversation.

"Great to see ya. Look, I'll cut right to the chase. Chef, butler, good?" Dawn furrowed her eyebrows.

"Chef's an asshole, but he's clean. Uh. . . butler, he's a chill guy, also an asshole, but he's also clean." 

"Well, I wouldn't have it any other way." Dawn will have to ask the Detective about this later on.

The footage cut out and Dawn departed from Little Buddy, she turned around so that she may thank the Chef, but he wasn't there. She pursed her lips together.

Such an odd man.

* * *

That was a pretty horrible experience, but she still got some information from all the suspects.  . . . Or did she? Dawn looked through her memories of all the guests that had come for poker night to see if she was missing someone. Her eyes widened as she realized who it was.

"Damien!" She hasn't spoken to Damien since this morning. Who knows what has happened to him? . . . Or what he could be up to.

She rushed out of the kitchen and went into the living room in search for the Mayor. But, found no sign of him.

She looked over to the door that lead to the balcony and pushed it open. Outside was a small pool and a wondrous view of the city below. It was a beautiful day out, it made the Millionairess wonder how they were exactly stuck.

She turned the corner to see Damien pacing, clutching his cane tightly in his hands. The Millionairess approached him slowly with a look of concern. She went to speak, but stopped herself. She took in a calming breath and put on a soft smile. "A beautiful day, isn't it?"

Damien ceased his pacing and turned around. He stared at the Millionairess for a long moment before speaking to her. "Yes, it truly is." Dawn walked over to the edge of the balcony where a stone fence stood. Damien stood beside her. "You're here to help the Detective, aren't you?" 

"I've been helping the Detective all day. Right now," she placed a hand over his own and looked him in the eyes with sincerity, "I want to help you." Damien looked down below the balcony.

Dawn frowned slightly, she took her hand away feeling that she had stepped too far. "But," she began to walk away from the Mayor, "if you don't want me here I-" Damien grabbed her by the wrist and looked deep into her green eyes.

"No. Please, I-" he looked down at his hand, quickly retracted it, and took a step back, looking down at his feet. "I really want to talk to you." The Millionairess returned back to her spot beside the Mayor.

"I'm all ears." Damien took in a deep breath and sighed.

"I. . . I'm sorry you saw that argument with me and the Colonel. I lashed out in anger, and it wasn't right and. . . he must be in shock. The Colonel's an eccentric; it's his best quality and his worst. But, he's my friend, and. . . so was Mark." Dawn patted his back comfortingly.

"We're all dealing with the loss of Mark, Damien. We just have to remember to stay calm. Otherwise, we'll tear each other apart." 

"I know, I know. But, I'm supposed to be the leader in this scenario, yet I can't help but to feel. . . lost. I've known Mark for years, since we were kids! And he's just gone?" Dawn nodded thoughtfully.

"I felt the same way when my mother passed. She was just. . . gone. There was no sort of warning; it just. . . happened. It makes it all the more painful. But, we just have to learn to accept that it happened before doing anything else. Even when it comes to leadership." Dawn placed her hands on Damien's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Damien, don't strain yourself. It will only make this worse." Damien nodded, taking in Dawn's advice.

He managed an appreciative smile. "Thank you, Dawn. I really do appreciate your advice." Dawn smiled back.

"I'm glad I could help, Damien. And just yell if you need anything else."

"I think what I need right now is some time alone, to think." Dawn nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Alright, I'll leave you then. I probably have to get back to the Detective anyway." She turned around and waved him goodbye. He waved back before returning to the wonderful view before him.

As Dawn was rounding the corner she saw the Detective hiding behind a bush. She jumped and placed a hand to her chest.

"Detective! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet. Come on!" Abe made his way back inside, the Millionairess following close behind. "You're not gonna believe this shit; I can barely believe this shit!"

"What is it?" Dawn asked as they entered the house.

"The body: it's gone." Dawn furrowed her eyebrows together.

"What? What do you mean it's gone?"

"It just fucking disappeared."

"How is that possible? I thought  **you** were watching it!"

"I was, but I had to go write something down. When I came back it was gone!" Abe lead Dawn into the living room. The outline of the body was there, however, there was no body and part of the crime scene was taken down. Almost like something broke through it.

Dawn's breathing quickened as her heart pounded against the inside of her chest. The world began to spin, fast, too fast. Darkness was closing in once again and the cold was returning. Dawn fell to the ground, drifting off into the bleak world of unconsciousness.

A cruel laugh echoed in her ears as her eyes closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooh, I wonder what could be brewing in Markiplier Manor. You guys probably already know what's happening, but I hope you're still enjoying the journey!  
> Anyway, I hope you guys liked it and don't be afraid to comment or share this fanfic to a friend. And happy holidays!


	5. The Mystery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Demons and shit!

Dawn was transported to a dark and cold world. There was no light, ringing being the only sound in it, and there appeared to be no sort of ground. Yet, it felt like she was standing on something solid.

The hair on Millionairess' arms began to rise as she felt that unearthly presence was there with her yet again. Dawn swallowed hard as she examined the space around her with deep concern.

"He-Hello?" she called. "Is anyone there?" Her voice echoed throughout the void and became lost.

Where was this? Why was she here?

A horrible laugh sounded through the void, or at least Dawn assumed it was a laugh. It was hard to tell with the being's voice. It was hard to describe. It was almost. . . cryptic. Or. . . oh, what's the word? Demonic? No, not even quite that.

It then began talking. Talking in a language that Dawn had never heard of before. It sounded to be amused and threatening. But, again it was hard to tell. As the voice went on with it's speech Dawn could feel it getting colder and colder. It got to the point where her teeth were chattering and she could see her breath.

The voice gradually getting louder and she could begin to hear clear words. "Sleep. . . out. . . stay. . . stay. . . need. . . give . . . sleep."

"What do you want?" Dawn asked, her voice filled with fear.

"Stay. . . sleep. . . get out. . . if you. . . ."

"Partner," called Abe.

"Abe?"

"Partner, wake up!" She furrowed her eyebrows.

"What?"

"Don't listen. . . sleep."

"Don't die on me just yet!"

"Abe, where are you?"

"Stay. . . sleep."

"C'mon, partner, I need you to wake up!" Dawn watched as a piece of the void broke away and fell to the ground like glass on concrete. A bright light shown through the new hole. "Wake up!" A few more pieces soon followed. "Wake up!" More and more pieces of the void broke away revealing a ceiling of light and warmth.

"NO! DON'T GO! STAY!" Dawn approached to what looked like a wall and kicked through it, creating a entryway to the other world. "NO! DON'T GO!  _ **DON'T GO**_ _ **!**_ _"_ Dawn could see frost beginning to collect on her dress as the world fell around her. She took that as her cue to leave right that second. She couldn't waste time making the entryway much larger. She crawled through cutting her leg by one of the sharp edges as she did so. But, she didn't care about that, she only cared about the warmth and light that engulfed her.

* * *

"Dawn! Dawn!" Dawn's eyes shot open to see Abe hovered over her, as white as a ghost. He sighed in relief and leaned back. "Thank God, I did  **not** want to explain how Dawn Samson mysteriously died under my watch. I mean, I would had to kill everyone else just to save my hide." Dawn ignored the Detective as she sat up and rubbed her head.

"Ugh, I just had a horrid nightmare." Although, Dawn was already forgetting the premise of it.

"Yeah, yeah, tell me about it later. Right now we have bigger problems on our hands." Abe helped her up onto her feet, she hissed in pain as she did so. She could barely keep herself up. "What? What's the matter?"

"My leg." Dawn looked down and lifted up her skirt just a bit for her to see. There was a large horizontal cut on her calf. She squinted. When did she get a cut? She tried to remember when she could have gotten a cut such as that, but couldn't.

Abe furrowed his eyebrows. "How did this happen?"

"I-I don't know." In came the Butler examining the entire scene.

"Wha - Oh! Ms. Samson!" He came to her aid and let her lean onto him. He looked down at her cut then looked back up at the Detective. "What the hell happened?"

"Well, the body's been moved and Dawn got a mysterious cut."

"The body moved? On it's own?"

"No way the body could have moved on it's own. Unless it did, in which case we've got bigger problems than a simple murder." The sixth lightning strike hit the grounds causing Dawn to flinch. She had almost forgotten about the thunder. 

The Butler looked down at the Millionairess worriedly. He set her down on the couch gently. "Ms. Samson-" The Chef's entrance interrupted the Butler's sentence.

"What the hell happened here?"

"The body's moved," explained the Butler. 

"On it's own?"

"We haven't quite ruled that out just yet, but let's not forget we've got a murderer." The seventh lighting strike hit and Dawn could swear she could hear ringing following it.

"Could you please stop saying that word?" Dawn pleaded.

The Chef turned to the Millionairess. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know. I somehow got this cut."

"We'll need to treat it before it gets infected. Could someone fetch the first aid kit?"

"Bully!" Dawn jumped at the sudden appearance of the Colonel. She placed a hand on her chest.

"Jesus Christ," she murmured.

"Quite a storm out there, eh, chaps?" The Colonel glanced over at Dawn. "Oh my! That seems like a pretty nasty cut there. How did you get it?" Dawn shook her head.

"I don't know, it just. . . appeared."

"Well, it's a good thing I brought this first aid kit with me." William pulled out a kit from what seemed like nowhere and handed it to the Butler. The Butler approached the Millionairess and knelt down before her. And the Butler worked on Dawn's cut while the conversation went on, Dawn hisses of pain being muffled in the background of it. "Now what are you all doing huddled in fear?"

"We have a zombie problem," explained the Chef.

"Ah, hah! That's it! Homo necrosis! Samson, I've found it! The most dangerous game!"

"Good for you, Will," she hissed through clenched teeth.

"If someone needs to put the old lad down again, I'm all for the privilege."

"What do you mean by 'again', and what do you mean by 'privilege'?" asked the Detective.

"I'm just saying, I've got plenty of. . ." William searched for the right word, "e-experience on the matter." Colonel was slipping and he was slipping quick and Dawn didn't know what to say to save him.

"So do I," admitted the Chef casually causing Dawn to feel even more uneasy.

"Yeah, that just raises more questions."

"Well, I'm off to the grounds to see if I can catch a glimpse of the old bag of bones, eh?" The Colonel walked off laughing. The Butler paused from stitching up Dawn's cut to question the Colonel.

"But, William, weren't you and Mark the same age?" William ignored the Butler and continued his laughing which soon evolved into an insane cackle. The Colonel's cackle then ended with a dull cough. The Butler shrugged and finished up Dawn's stitches, he then slapped an unnecessary band aid onto it and smiled. "Ah, all done." 

Dawn released her grip from the leather couch to see that her fingernails had left imprints. The Butler got up and helped Dawn to stand up. After a few wobbly steps she managed to walk with a limp.

"Okay, it's official. I don't trust the Colonel." Dawn rolled her eyes.

"You don't trust anyone."

"Fair point." Abe then turned to the help. "Alright, lock this place down. Secure the front gate. I don't want anyone in or out of this place until we get to the bottom of this."

"I'm afraid to say that the locks will not keep the guests from getting out, sir."

"Locks won't, but Chef will," stated the Chef.

Dawn wanted to prove that one man couldn't possibly keep that many people behind these walls, but the Chef was a very strange man. You never know what he might be able to do. 

The Chef then left to guard the grounds.

"Look, you're a real smart son of a bitch. Handsome, too. Beautiful, even." The Detective brushed his hand over the Butler's cheek, making both him and Dawn creeped out. "But we don't have time for this. I think we forgot the most important question of all during our arousing game of whodunit." Dawn raised an eyebrow and stared at the Detective expectantly. "Why?" Dawn's eyebrows shot up as she herself began to question this as well. "Why?"

Abe held Dawn by the shoulders and lead her away from the crime scene. "Walk with me."

* * *

The Detective walked the Millionairess away from the living room and through the lobby. He was going at a slow pace so that he wasn't practically dragging her.

"Why did he invite us all here? Why last night?" Dawn pressed her lips into a thin line as she went into thought.

"Well. . . he said he was celebrating something."

"But he never specified what. It's almost as if this whole shindig of a hootenanny was just a ruse."

"A ruse for what? What would Mark possibly make a ruse for?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Abe looked at Dawn's almost hateful expression and frowned. "Listen, I'm not trying to make Mark sound like a villain. Don't forget that he was my friend too. It's just. . . when he went quiet. I just  **knew** something was wrong, I just never figured out what."

"So, you think whatever happened to him when he disconnected might have something to do with last night?"

"It's a good theory." Abe took a very long pause before speaking again. "Look, I'm gonna level with you; you're my new partner. I've been working with him for years. Now I've been doing this for a long time, and I know something is wrong. There is a murderer-" Dawn flinched as the seventh lightning strike hit the grounds.

"God, I hate that word."

"As I was saying, I know there is a killer here amongst us, and we need to find him and or her." Dawn grimaced as Abe helped her up the stairs. "Now you look like a trustworthy gal. I know we just met, but I am an excellent judge of character." Dawn doubted that.

Abe pulled Dawn to the very top of the stairs and looked in her green eyes. "Excellent like a fox." He shot her a wink before moving on, making the Millionairess feel very uncomfortable.

The Detective continued his journey to god knows where. "I smiled and fed them a line of bullshit. The truth was, I couldn't trust them any more than the other skuzz around here."

" _Skuzz?"_  she questioned, offended. 

"Or whatever you like to call them." Abe lead Dawn to another staircase which he helped her down with. "But, as I was  _saying_ , like my late partner once said right before he died, best to keep your enemies close. Wink, wink." Abe suddenly stopped in the middle of the staircase to look Dawn in the eyes. "You don't look like you have a reason to kill him."

Dawn put on a stern expression. "That's because I don't." Dawn really didn't. But, then again, she didn't really remembered what happened last night. . . . No, no, she couldn't have. Damien was there with her he would have noticed something was up. Unless. . . .

"If you do. . ." Abe snapped Dawn back into reality.

He chuckled creepily. "Best to keep your enemies close, eh? Wink, wink." Dawn scrunched up her nose in disgust as the Detective continued their descent down the stairs. "So, the real question we should be asking is: who stood to gain the most from Mark's death?" The two finally came down the stairs and Abe lead Dawn through the maze of the mansion. "Now, in my thorough analysis of the corpse's anal cavity, I discovered that in addition to being stabbed 37 times, he was also poisoned, beaten, strangled, drowned, and shot, in that order."

"How did you get this from his anal cavi-" The Detective shushed her.

"Don't question my investigations. Now, if you ask me, that's a lot of trouble to go through to knock off one guy, and it sure as shit is no accident." The two went up yet another set of stairs and Dawn was 95% sure that he was just pointlessly walking her about the manor, not really having a purpose. "No. No, my friend. There's gonna be no simple candlestick-in-the-library solution to this whole. . . puzzle." Dawn found herself at Mark's bedroom. That was strange, she could have sworn that staircase lead to the trophy room. "So, we're gonna have to do the detective-ly thing and go through the victim's most private and personal possessions."

The Millionairess pursed her lips together, not really enjoying the thought of invading Mark's privacy. But, she is doing this for Mark.  . . . And out of sheer force.

Abe opened the door for Dawn. "Ladies first." Dawn took in a deep breath and walked through the doorway. Dawn's eyes widened in surprise as she looked about the bedroom.

It was completely trashed. Sheets, towels, pillows, and just about anything else were thrown about the room. There was broken glass, broken legs of furniture, broken everything. It looked as if an animal was unleashed in the room.

"Could this be. . . where he was killed?"

"Good theory, but I don't think he was killed here. That would mean someone just dragged his body downstairs for whatever reason. But, just in case, take a look around, but be careful," warned the Detective. "I've lost three partners before to bedroom booby traps."

Dawn furrowed her eyebrows. "That's a thing?"

"That's most definitely a thing. A very serious thing." Dawn shook her head and made her journey about the room. The corner of the room seemed to have caught her attention. "And make sure you don't tamper any evidence. And let me know if you find anything."

"Yeah, yeah," she murmured as she approached a set of photos of the old gang. Dawn smiled fondly at the memories that the photos brought back.

In the first photo there was her, Damien, Mark, and the Colonel. Dawn was kissing the very flustered Damien on the cheek while Mark and Colonel teased the two about it. In the second photo is where Celine came in.

Celine, Damien's sister and Mark's ex-wife. She was a sweet woman, fascinated in the dark arts with a short temper. When her and Mark started dating Dawn didn't mind too much. But, Mark seemed to have been a little distance after he started dating Celine. This tampered the spirits of the rest of the gang. Colonel more than Damien and Dawn.

But, Celine soon grew on the group. Her and Dawn spoke of Damien. Dawn got all of the embarrassing stories of him from childhood and Celine got all of the stories of how Damien bent over backwards for Dawn. The two women soon became very close.

And the thought of his sister dating Mark warmed up to Damien, in fact he was thrilled when he heard that Mark had popped the question.

Even the Colonel seemed friendlier toward her. Perhaps too friendly.

A little while after Mark married Celine it was revealed that Celine was having an affair with the Colonel. Mark supposedly paid for them to make their get away together. Dawn didn't know why, but she never questioned it.

This left only Dawn, Damien, and Mark. Which is what is shown in the third photo. They did not seem as cheerful as as they were in the first. It's really no surprise, Mark was extremely upset over the whole thing and there was almost nothing Damien and Dawn could do about it. This might have been the cause of some of the negativity that Dawn and Damien showed to each other.  . . . Or maybe it was something else.

Somewhere after the news that Celine had gone off to invest more into the dark arts Damien and Dawn finally broke apart. Mark tried to keep in contact for a while, but he soon just gave up.

Dawn picked up the last remaining photo. It was the only one that was broken. It showed the Colonel, alone. Dawn turned around and showed it to Abe.

"Abe, do you think that this has any meaning toward Mark's death?" 

"Might be." Abe approached the Millionairess as she glanced over it one more time. When she pulled it down from her eyes there was William standing right in front of her. Dawn flinched and placed a hand to her heart. She sighed in relief once she realized it was only the Colonel.

"You're quite on the case, aren't you, Samson?" 

"Jesus, Will, I'll be the next one dead if you keep doing that."

"You said that I could pull you out of the Detective's business whenever I like. And I like to now. As long as you're okay with it, Detective." The Colonel never turned to look at Abe as he said this quite intimidatingly. It was strange. But, the Colonel did work in very strange ways.

"Yeah, sure. Don't worry about it, partner, I'll handle the investigation from here," assured Abe before he took a very long sniff from Mark's underwear.

"Bully." The Colonel hooked his arm with the Millionairess as he went for the exit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Don't be afraid to leave a comment and share this to your friends.


	6. The Tension

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting into the more serious stuff now.

"What have you pulled me out of the investigation for, Will?" She gasped. "Do you finally need me to comfort you?"

The Colonel laughed. "Don't be silly, Samson! I just wanted to have a chat with you. I've barely got the chance to this entire day."

"Is it really that important?"

"Yes. So important that we have to move someplace very far away from the prying eyes of. . . anyone else," he finished darkly, but it didn't phase Dawn. He was like this most of the time. 

"Alright, lead the way."

"Gladly." The Colonel opened the door to the social part of the grounds of the manor. "Now correct me if I'm wrong, but. . . did you get back together with Damien last night?" Dawn turned a light shade of pink.

"Oh! No, no, no, no, Will, Damien was only carrying me upstairs to-"

"He carried you upstairs?" The Colonel laughed as they approached the pool. "That dog." Dawn's face slowly turned into a bright red as she tried to stutter out the explanation of what really happened. Colonel patted her hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Besides, I'm glad. Damien is a very good man, you deserve someone like him." Dawn looked down at the ground bashfully. "Now there came a time when I could have said the same thing of Mark, but. . ." the Colonel frowned. "Well, best not to speak ill of the dead." Dawn frowned as well.

"William, if you-"

"Oh! The pool hasn't aged a day!" 

"Wait, Will-" the Colonel grabbed Dawn's face and turned it so that she was forced to see the pool beside them.

"Look! It's glorious! Is it not?" Dawn pulled Colonel's hand away from her face, turning to him.

"Yes, but, Will-" Dawn stopped mid-sentence as the Colonel who had magically dressed into his swimming suit went to jump into the pool. 

"GERONIMO!" He jumped into the pool causing a big splash to sprinkle the Millionairess. She sighed heavily.

"Have you seen the Colonel?" Dawn turned around to see Damien coming around the corner, seeming very distraught.

"Oh! Um. . ." Dawn looked down at the pool and weighed her options. She didn't know what was going on between the Colonel and Damien as of now. And she didn't know whether the Colonel was okay on the matter. So, she settled with a neutral question. "Why do you ask?"

Damien pushed his hair back as he looked around anxiously. "I need to speak with him. I fear I was too short at our last encounter."

"Uh. . ." Dawn looked down at the pool, it was empty. "I think he may have just left." Damien sighed.

"Well, if you do see him, let me know." Damien stalked off, without another word.

Dawn looked back to the pool to see the Colonel emerge. "BULLY!" The Colonel swam up to the edge of the pool. "Dawn, you must try this."

"I can't, Will. I didn't bring my swimming suit," she stated obviously much more focused on Damien.

"To hell with swimming suits! Come in!" The Millionairess let out a small yelp as the Colonel dragged her down into the water. The makeup washing off and disappearing into the water. Her hair being cleansed of all product, her hair now wet seemed long and dark now. She emerged from the water, gasping. She coughed as her vision cleared.

The Colonel was standing in front of her dressed in his regular attire, as dry as he was before. He laughed as he lent her a hand. "Oh, life needs a bit of madness, eh, Samson?" He helped her out of the water, her dress now clinging to her. 

The warm summer air soon turned cold causing Dawn to shudder. She hugged herself as she shook like a leaf.

"Agree to disagree." The Colonel laughed once more, clasping a hand onto her back, nearly knocking her over.

"Now, what were we talking about?" asked the Colonel as he lead her away from the pool.

"Mark."

"Oh, yes! The grisly business going on inside. I'm sure that I am not the first to say that our host had a great deal of enemies as of late." Dawn nodded thoughtfully as they approached the golf course. "My prying eye might suspect that the people who worked for him might have reason to stab him in the back. God knows he's a tough son of a bitch to work for." 

The Millionairess took in this information and added it to her own hypothesis. It was possible that the help could have done it, that was apparent. But, Dawn found it very unlikely. They seem very suspicious, but the Millionairess doesn't think that they could have done it.

"Oh, the old golf course! I-I'll fetch my clubs." William rushed down the steps to the golf course.

"Wait! Will! We still-"

"Colonel?" Dawn turned around, surprised by Damien. "Is he here?" Dawn looked behind her to see the Colonel had once again vanished. She sighed as she shook her head.

"He just left. . . again."

"Damn." Damien soon brushed it off, he examined the Millionairess worriedly. "What happened to you?"

"I fell into the pool." Damien pulled out his handkerchief and wiped away the remaining makeup on her face. He then took off his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders.

"There, I hope that's better." Dawn smiled gratefully as she held the jacket close to her.

"Very much. Thank you, Damien." Damien bowed his head, not looking the Millionairess in the eyes.

"It's no problem. Uh, would you mind accompanying me? There's something that I would. . . very much like to discuss with you."

"Yes, of course." Dawn limped over to him, Damien furrowed his eyebrows.

"Is something wrong with your leg?"

"It's just a cut. I'll be fine." Damien pressed his lips into a thin line worriedly. He held her by the shoulders and slowly walked around the balcony with her.

"I know you've been assisting our. . . intrepid detective with his investigation, but. . ." Damien set down the Millionairess on a nearby bench and sat down next to her. "I have to bring some concerns of mine to the forefront. If we look at this situation logically, we can only assume that the killer who struck down our dear friend Mark was with us last night. And while I would stake my life on the innocence of the Colonel or yourself, can we really say the same of our beloved Detective?"

Dawn hummed as she went into deep thought. "Or worse yet, mayhaps our counting skills aren't as good as we assume them to be. And maybe. . ." Damien looked down at his cane and clutched tightly. "In the shadows of this manor, unseen to any of us, lay hidden. . . a murderer." Dawn jumped at the crash of thunder followed by a gunshot and the sound of breaking of glass. She grasped Damien's arm tightly and looked to him to see that he mirrored the same worried expression.

Damien sprung up onto his feet and draped Dawn's arm around his shoulders. They then rushed inside to see the Colonel and the Detective with their guns drawn, yelling to one another.

"I don't know what you're playing at but you better lower your weapon, you murderer!" Another crack of thunder was sounded after Abe's demand.

"I bloody well won't, you're the one that assaulted me! For all I know, you could be the murderer!" The Millionairess could start to feel the stress and anxiety begin to sink in. Her chest felt tight. Her heart was pounding. Yet, she couldn't move. She couldn't speak. 

The Chef walked in, ladle in hand. "What the fu - Ooh!" He stopped once the two bickering guests pointed their guns toward him. He immediately backed out having the two draw their attention back to one another.

"Last chance, drop your weapon!" commanded the Detective.

"Master's prized vase. . ." said the Butler as he gestured to the shattered remains of the vase. He bent down to clean it up.

"Everyone, please!" called Damien, drawing the attention to him. "I know we're all on edge, but can't we resolve this amicably?"

"On edge?!" echoed the Detective. "This psycho tried to shoot me!" Colonel looked to the Millionairess for back up, but how could she pick a side here?

William turned back to Abe. "That's a bold-faced lie! I was merely doing some light target practice!" That did sound like something the Colonel would do, then again. . . .

"Inside?!" exclaimed the Butler as he waved the feather duster in William's face.

"Well, yes, I couldn't go on the grounds now with that bloody Chef in my way, could I?" William was slipping and yet again Dawn didn't know how to save him.

The Chef stepped in, brandishing his ladle. "You're damn right! You should've remembered that, Private!" The Chef tapped Colonel on the head with the ladle, probably meaning to hit him much harder. "Besides, you're not my boss anymore!"

"It's 'Colonel' now," leered William. 

Dawn could hear the ringing once again as the tension became more and more apparent. "Enough of this horseshit!" shouted Abe. "You knew I was onto you and you were trying to whack me off before I could finger you!" Everyone looked to Abe in confusion. "As the murderer!" Another crack of thunder sounded, bringing back the seriousness of the situation.

"I will not be called a murderer-" Dawn felt that the lightning was getting closer some how. She looked around the room to see it gradually darkening. "In my own home!"

The doors swung open revealing Celine. "STOP!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I have a few more left to go before I end this part of the series. I'm so excited for the ending! There's going to be so much angst!


	7. The Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know that dream that you just can't put your finger on? Yes, well, try to imagine that dream had actual significance in your life as well as others. That is exactly what Dawn is going through as of right now. Watch as tensions and suspicions grow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something truly is a brewing. I wonder what is happening to Dawn and I wonder if that "nightmare" had anything to do with it. . . ;)

Everyone froze in place at the sight of Celine. The Millionairess clinging to the Mayor. The Chef and the Butler holding onto each other for dear life. And the Colonel and the Detective pointing their guns to one another.

"What are all of you doing?" asked Celine as she slammed the door shut.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Abe.

"Celine? What are you doing here?" The Colonel asked as he lowered his gun.

"'Celine'? How the hell do you know her?" The Butler approached Celine slowly as to not provoke the Colonel.

"Madame, I'm afraid you've come at a very inopportune time. Something dreadful has happened here." 

"I know." Damien began to walk toward the group at the entrance, pulling Dawn along.

"You do?" asked Abe.

Celine eyed the Detective as if he just sprouted a second head. "There is a dead man in the driveway."

"What?" Dawn looked to Damien worriedly as Abe passed Celine to poke his head outside. Abe jumped a bit before turning back slowly. "Did anyone call for a driver?" Dawn turned pale. She had forgotten that her father was going to send the driver to pick her up. No wonder he never spoken of his arrival.

"Dawn?" Damien asked, concern and confusion riddling his expression. Everyone turned to the Millionairess expecting an explanation from her, but she couldn't formulate any words.

Abe walked over to the Millionairess swiftly and looked her dead in the eye. His expression didn't read threatening, but it did say seriousness. "Partner. I'm going to need you to be truthful with me here. Did you call for a driver?" Dawn swallowed hard and after a long pause she worked up the courage to speak.

"M-my father. He-he sent ou-ou-out the dr-driver. I. . . I was supposed to le-leave the-the fir-first thing this mo-morning," she uttered as she squeezed Damien's arm in fear. 

Abe turned around, took off his cap and ran a hand over his balding head. "Two murders in one day, my god." Celine furrowed her eyebrows as the lighting stuck the grounds.

"Two? Who else has been killed?" 

"How can I put this delicately?" asked the Chef to himself. "MARK'S FUCKING DEAD!"

"What?" Celine asked, almost unfazed by the Chef's yelling.

"Dead, like my hopes and dreams," Chef stated. "And he's a flesh-eating zombie, too." Celine gasped.

"Homo necrosis."

"Exactly, hence the guns," Colonel explained as he waved his gun about.

Abe rolled his eyes. "That is not 'hence the guns'!" exclaimed Abe as he repeated the motion.

"Stop waving those bloody guns around!" demanded the Butler. This only resulted to the two men as well as the Chef to wave their weapons in the Butler's face childishly.

"Hol-hold on! Tell me what happened! Who killed Mark?"

"We don't know," spoke Damien. "And worse yet, the body is missing."

"What? Show me. And don't say the m-word, please."

"What m-word?" asked the Chef. "Murder?" Dawn felt some of her energy drain as another crack of thunder sounded.

"Yes! That word!" Celine said as Abe lead her to the crime scene, the rest of the group following close behind.

"Well, I mean murder is a rather accurate description of what occur-" Dawn winced as yet another lighting strike hit. Celine walked up to the Butler and hit his arm as to not hurt him but to grab his attention.

"Do you not see the lighting?"

"You sayin' it was lighting that murdered Mark?" Dawn's knees buckled and she nearly fell if it weren't for Damien's support. He looked to her worriedly.

"Well, Mother Nature doesn't exactly strike me as having murderous intent." Dawn held onto the Mayor for dear life. "Unless you count that time I was sucked into the board game: Jumanji and I wa-"

"Could you **please** shut up?!" she snapped causing everyone to turn their heads to her. She almost seemed sick from all of the commotion. Celine approached her slowly, looking at her up and down.

"You're affected, aren't you?" Dawn sighed and shook her head.

"No, no, I-I'm fine."

"That injury, how did you get it?" Dawn looked down at her stitched wound. The band-aid that once covered it now peeling off most likely due to the water.

"I. . . I don't see how that has any significance to this discussion." 

"You don't know how you got it, do you?"

"How do you know that?"

"Whatever's happening here is tapping into forces far beyond our control. You could be a factor of it." Dawn knitted her eyebrows together as she and everyone else look around the group expectantly.

"Murder," said the Chef quietly causing Dawn to wince in pain.

"Mur. . . doch?" The Colonel spoke questioningly. But, it gain no response from the weather nor the Millionairess.

"Malarkey," spoke Abe, but once again, no response.

"Marco!" the Butler called. The weather seemed to thoroughly differ with him, but Dawn was not fazed in the slightest.

* * *

The group proceeded to make tests like these until Celine demanded to sit down as a group somewhere. They all agreed on the dining room.

Once they all sat down Celine tried to speak up, but the men of the group - excluding Damien - talked over her.

"Enough!" Celine shouted as she slammed her hands onto the table. "Look, Mark's death is a terrible thing indeed. But I fear that there are forces much darker than anything we've seen here today. I'm well versed in the arcane arts, but if you, untrained and uninitiated, can summon lighting and harm someone with a mere word, we're all in far graver danger than anything we could ever hope to face alone. We're gonna have to work together if we're gonna survive this."

"Celine, what are you proposing?" asked Damien.

"We need to speak to the dead." Chef banged his fist upon the table.

"I knew it! He's a flesh-eating zombie!"

"No," said Celine firmly.

"Well, maybe one of those smart zombies: homo sapio zombifus," Colonel proposed.

"No, no. I need to commune with the dead."

"That. . . doesn't sound like a good idea," said Abe.

"Well, it's a good thing I don't need your permission." The Butler silently giggled at this.

"But you! Dawn!" Dawn suddenly whipped her head over to the Seer. "You've been awfully quiet through this whole thing." All aside from Damien turned to Dawn. She grasped Damien's hand and held it tightly under the table. He squeezed it reassuringly.

"Celine, are you accusing Dawn of this?" asked Damien.

"Mr. Mayor, you must admit, she has been fairly suspicious," the Butler inquired.

"She has barely spoken throughout this whole day and her driver showed up dead. And that cut that just 'magically appeared' has deemed her 'helpless'. That is a common trait when killers try to appear innocent," explained Abe before sighing. "Maybe I shouldn't have trusted someone so goddamn gorgeous after all."

"B-but, I really don't know how I got this cut! I just woke up with it." Celine cocked an eyebrow.

"You woke up with it?" Dawn nodded. "Were you perhaps dreaming before you woke up?" The Millionairess knew that she was having a nightmare, but she had forgotten of what it was about.

"Yeah, but, I don't know why that's important." Celine narrowed her eyes.

"I sense that you have a far greater part to play in all of this, Dawn."

"M-me?"

"Yes. You could help me find an answer. The question is: will you?" Dawn thought about this for a very long moment. She looked around at the many faces of the table before making her decision.

"If it will help with the case, then yes, I'll do it." Celine smiled.

"Perfect. Come with me." Dawn let go of Damien's hand and went to get up when Abe finally drew the line.

"Alright, that's enough. I'm not gonna just sit around and let you drag my partner off to her very likely death." Abe looked into Dawn's green eyes. "Even if she might be our prime suspect. I will not stand for it!" Abe slammed his hands onto the table as he took a stand.

"Well, I trust Celine with all my heart!" declared the Colonel as his face turned a light shade of pink. "I see no reason why an-any-any one should doubt her!" The Colonel stood up as well, challenging the Detective.

"Well, I have to agree with our intrepid Detective here. It just doesn't seem natural," claimed the Butler.

"I never liked this uptight asshole. He walks around with a stick up his ass," stated the Chef. "But I think he's right, something's weird."

"Everything is weird!" spoke Dawn. She scoffed. "Ever since I stepped into this house it's been weird. And it's only getting weirder. Celine is the only one that could possibly help us with this!" The men of the group looked around at one another, still very unsure.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, you guys can stand watch outside the door, but my work _cannot_ be interrupted."

"Oh, believe you me. I'll be keeping a close eye on every single one of you," assured Abe. "Even myself. Especially myself." Celine rolled her eyes and got up, helping Dawn over to the staircase.

"Come on."

"Wh - Celine? Ladies, wait. Wait!" Damien blocked their way.

"Yes, Damien?" asked Celine, seemingly tired of him already.

"I. . . are you two alright?" Celine sighed. "Celine, I know this news can't be settling well with you. And Dawn, my god, you seem to be getting worse as the hours pass by." Dawn didn't have time to say anything to him as Celine hurriedly pushed pass Damien, practically dragging the Millionairess up with her.

"Damien, we're losing day light," Celine said curtly as Damien followed close behind them.

"I. . . er. . . . But all this talk of the occult! And-and Mark is dead, wait! Wait." They all finally reached the top of the stairs where Celine finally chose to give Dawn a break. "I just didn't think you two were the type to become mixed up with all this."

"Damien, there is more to this world than you could ever hope to imagine. I just had my eyes open to a small portion of it." Dawn stayed behind as Celine walked down the hall.

"I. . ." Damien sighed. "Just be careful!" he called to her. Damien looked to Dawn. "Both of you," he said, his voice becoming much quieter.

Dawn put on a weak smile for him. "We'll be fine. It is yourself that you should worry about."

"Dawn!" called Celine from down the hall. Dawn looked to Damien one last time. She gave him a very quick kiss on the cheek before limping after the Seer.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that cut off sort of weirdly there, but I'm saving the rest of the episode for the next chapter. But, anyway, hope you guys enjoyed chapter 7! I think that there maybe two-three more chapters to go! I'm so excited! I'm having so much fun making people suffer!  
> And happy New Year!


	8. The Void

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get to talk about Dawn's dream finally and find out what she is truly able to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update: I have added a new portion to this chapter. Please, if you have read this chapter before, I suggest you go back to read the ending.

Celine lead the Millionairess to a very dark and secluded room. "Close the door behind you, would you?" Dawn did as she was asked and looked back to Celine for further instruction. "Hand me my bag, please," Celine requested as she sat down. 

Dawn took the bag from the opposite chair and handed it to Celine. The Seer pulled out a variety of items all having this sort of ominous feel to them. It took a little bit over half an hour to set up everything since they apparently needed certain curtains to speak to the dead. "Thank you. Please, have a seat." Dawn took a seat, relieved that she was finally off her feet and waited for Celine to begin the seance.

It was odd, but Dawn somehow felt much safer in the room with Celine than she was outside of it. It brought the Millionairess a very warm and cozy feeling, something she hadn't felt in a long time. Or at least it felt like a long time.

"Now, I'm sure that this must be unsettling for you, suddenly being thrust into this series of horribly of unfortunate events." Dawn nodded as she held onto Damien's jacket tightly. She thought of her father, how he might be feeling right now. He must be worried sick. "I promise, Dawn - with your help, I'm going to get to the bottom of this. Now I'm not sure who would want to kill Mark or your driver, but something tells me this seemingly significant event is actually a footnote in a much larger mystery unfolding in our midst."

"I don't think you need a crystal ball to see that, Celine," Dawn joked hoping to relieve the tension. But, Celine didn't seem all that amused. Dawn's smile faded and she looked down.

"Dawn, as a seer I have seen many disturbing things. This house being one of them. But, Dawn, in just a day you have seen more than I could ever comprehend." Dawn furrowed her eyebrows.

"I have?"

"Dawn, that cut is no mere coincidence. You say it appeared after a dream?" Dawn nodded. "Dawn, if that is true, that was no dream." Dawn tilted her head slightly in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Celine took a short pause before speaking.

"Dawn, I want you to close your eyes." It was an odd request, especially out of the blue like that, but Dawn listened to Celine nevertheless. The Millionairess closed her eyes as instructed and waited. "Relax your mind." Dawn took in a deep breath through her nose and exhaled out her mouth as she focused on nothing, letting her mind go blank. "Where were you in your dream?" Dawn thought long and hard on this. And after some great searching she found a fracture of a memory. It was cold and it was pitch black. But, she still somehow stuck out from the darkness.

"Somewhere. . . dark and cold. It was like. . . some other dimension."

"Was there something there with you?" Dawn nodded.

"Yes. It was. . . some sort of. . . I don't know. I couldn't see it. I could only hear it."

"What did it say to you?" Celine's voice seemed to echo and slowly fade as if she was in a far side of a tunnel. Dawn was going to question this until Celine spoke again, seemingly impatient. " _What did it say to you?"_   Celine's voice was much more different now. It distorted to the sort of. . . demonic voice that seemed. . . familiar to the Millionairess.

"It. . . it was hard to make out," Dawn could hear her own voice soon echo and vanish as well.

"Please, continue," Celine's voice was becoming more and more distant like she was walking farther away.

"It was like a whole other language.  . . . but it soon became clearer. It was saying something about. . . sleeping and staying. . . getting out. I don't know. It wasn't making any sense."

"I think I knew where you were."

"Where?"

"The void." A new sort of ringing filled Dawn's ears as she felt the world around her fall away.

"Keep your enemies close, eh?" Dawn almost didn't recognize the voice until she remembered that Abe had said that to her just today before investigating Mark's room. 

An image flashed across Dawn's mind of the Colonel and Abe with their guns drawn. "I will not be called a murderer in my own home!" yelled the Colonel before Celine came in.

"Stop!" The memory faded and it became lost in the darkness only to be replaced by the Colonel.

"Yes, so important the we have to move far away from the prying eyes of. . . anyone else." The memory faded once again and showed Abe, pulling Dawn away from Damien to show her that the body had been moved. Dawn looked up to see William up on the balcony, staring down at the two.

Wait. . . Dawn didn't see Colonel up there before. How is she seeing him now?

The familiar piercing ring filled Dawn's ears as well as the horrid cold. She suddenly felt uncomfortable as the eery presence settled in once again. She decided to ignore it this time and prayed to God that it wouldn't hurt her.

". . . Not exactly sure what we were supposed to be celebrating." Dawn swallowed as she held on tightly to Damien's suit jacket as the presence began to grow stronger.

The memory soon faded away as a new image appeared, this one being something the Millionairess hadn't seen before.

This memory took place outside. There was a man with a shovel who appeared to be digging a hole, Abe had his gun raised to the man, not trusting him one bit. The Chef was next to the man, holding a lantern.

The man laughed.  "Employers come and go, come and go. Some die, some don't." A thunderclap and a seering pain pulled the Millionairess out of her trance with a sharp gasp. She was back in the room with Celine.

"What happened? Why did you stop?" she asked, almost demanding.

Dawn held her head that was swimming with millions of thoughts. Most of which just trying to comprehend what just happened. Some trying to recall what just happened. Others finding a way to formulate a verbal response.

"I-I. . ."

"Did you see something? Someone?"

"I-I. . . it he-he-he - sho-" Celine not having the patience for the Millionairess' stuttering handed her a piece of paper and a pen.

"Here, draw it." Dawn took the paper and pen and drew a stick figure with a shovel, digging a hole. It was the first image to come to mind and it was quick to draw. She then handed it back to the Seer. "What is this? This doesn't answer anything!"

"Well-well, I-I-I-" Celine stood up putting the paper aside.

"You need to go back!" Celine said as she handed Dawn back the picture. "Go back, now!" she demanded.

"I-"

"What the shit is this?" Abe asked as he entered the room.

"Get out! We are not done here!" Damien walked in, observing the scene with concern.

"Celine, I think this is quite enough."

"It's enough when I  **say** it's enough!" Celine exclaimed as she slammed her hands onto the table. Abe picked up Dawn by the shoulders, hurriedly ushering out of the room.

"C'mon, partner, let's go."

"B-bu-b-b-"

"Come on! Hurry it up!" The Detective pulled the Millionairess out of the room. "What did she do to you?" Dawn suddenly felt a gust of cold as she exited the room. She curled up and clung to Damien's suit jacket, hoping that it will bring her some warmth.

"N-nothing! I-I-I'm fine!"

"To hell you are. You're shaking like a leaf." Dawn didn't even notice she was. She looked down at her hands to see them uncontrollably shaking. The paper in her hand making a slight rustling sound due to the shaking.

Abe's eyes traveled down to the picture she held. He snatched it out of her hands and stared down at it. "What is this?"

"I-it-it-" Abe let go of the Millionairess going toward the end of the hallway.

"Butler! Butler!" The Butler came in with slight panic.

"What? What is it? Oh! Ms. Samson!" The Butler came rushing to her aid, examining her. He took off his glove and placed the back of his hand to her forehead and immediately retracted it. "Oh! You are ice cold!" He slipped back on his glove and went to exit. "I shall prepare your bed for you to rest-" Dawn, now starting to get tired of everyone worrying about her, sneered and barked:

"I'm fine!" The Butler took a step back from the snappy Millionairess.

"If you say so. . . Ms. Samson." He retreated back to Abe who was holding up the picture.

Dawn limped over to the two, using the railing as support. Once she got there she let go of the railing, feeling strong enough to keep herself standing.

"Does this mean anything to you?" The Butler looked over it as the Chef entered.

"Well, maybe. . . no, sorry."

"Spit it out if you got something!" said the Detective.

Dawn's eyes traveled over to the Chef who was avoiding any sort of eye contact.

Dawn pointed to the Chef with her shaky hand. "You were there." The Detective turned to the Millionairess, confused.

"What?"

"You, Chef. You were there. With that. . . man." 

"What man?" Dawn pointed to the picture. Abe squinted as he looked over the paper once more before turning to the Chef.

"I think she means our groundskeeper George, but he only works on weekdays," spoke the Butler.

"Looks like your friend here may disagree with that notion!" Abe accused.

The Chef finally made eye contact with the Detective, now trying to appear innocent. "Uh. . . I don't know what she's talking about, man. But, I don't know shit, I plead the fifth, man."

"Chef, if you know something, for god's sake spit it out!" the Butler demanded.

The Chef looked around at the three, all them wearing a very serious expression. Dawn's possibly more threatening than the other two. The Chef finally broke.

"Okay, alright, you're twisting my arm, alright. George has been living on the grounds for years."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the Butler, causing the Chef to grimace.

"And you just now thought to share that information with us?" asked Abe. "After two dead men and a missing body. For all we know, he could be the murderer!" Dawn grasped the railing tightly as thunder struck.

In came Celine and Damien. "For the last time, stop saying that word!"

"Please," Dawn spoke. "If not for her sake then mine." Damien came over to the Millionairess' aid once he saw her state.

"Are you alright?" he whispered.

She nodded. "I'm fine, Damien." Damien pursed his lips together, but he didn't pester her about it. He just put a hand onto her shoulder to let her know he's still there if she ever did need support.

"Look. George. . . just tends to the grounds, man. He's a fuckin' hermit!" the Chef explained.

"I don't care what the fuck he is!" exclaimed the Detective.

"Look, all this arguing is getting us nowhere!" intervened Damien. "Just go outside and talk to this George and be done with it!" Dawn turned to Damien, her eyebrows furrowed.

"You're not coming with us?"

"I-I need to stay here with Celine," explained Damien.

"I don't need help. Especially from you!"

"OUR FRIEND IS DEAD!" he shouted, causing Celine to cower away from him.

The Millionairess placed a hand onto the Mayor's shoulder. "Damien." He looked to her. "Everyone is stressed. Everyone is scared. Everyone just wants this to be over with. And we're all dealing with it in different ways." Dawn took in a sharp breath as she soaked in the pain of her aching body. "Some of us more painful than others." She refocused onto Damien reverting back to her somber expression. " **Do not** make others see it your way when they do not wish to." Damien looked down at his feet before looking up to Celine.

"I'm sorry. I just need answers to all of this. I already lost a friend today; I can't lose my sister too." Celine's expression softened.

"Fine, but I need to stay here," stated Celine.

"Fine with me."

"Fine, good, yeah, whatever, who cares," murmured Abe. "Alright, you're coming with me." Abe pointed to the Chef. "Partner, you too." Damien paused as he followed Celine to the dark room. He went over to Dawn, placing a hand onto her shoulder.

"You sure you can handle this?" Dawn nodded.

"Yes, yes, I'll be fine. Go on." Damien paused for a moment before pulling the Millionairess into a tight embrace.

"Stay safe," he whispered.

Dawn smiled and hugged him back. "I will." The Mayor pulled away and joined the Seer once more. The Millionairess turned back to Abe who was wearing a very bored expression.

"You done?"

"Yes."

"Good, let's - wait, someone's missing. Who had eyes on the Colonel?"

"Well, he appeared tired, and. . . went back to his room," explained the Butler.

"I'm sure he did," Abe said almost sarcastically. "And with any luck, he'll stay there. Alright, let's roll out. Come on." Dawn looked back to Damien and Celine who had just closed the door. She pressed her lips into a thin line. "Move it. Come on, partner, come on!" 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" she snapped as she limped over to the stairs.

* * *

The three soon arrived in the living room. Dawn stood behind Abe, shivering as well as uncontrollably scowling. She now was fully wearing Damien's jacket, hands in it's pockets, trying to get as much warmth as possible.

"Lead the way, Cookie," commanded Abe.

"Cookie? I'm not your Cookie! I spent three weeks at culinary school! I earned the right to be called a chef!"

"I'm very impressed," said Abe sarcastically. "Just tell us where we're going already!" The Chef looked as if he were about to refuse for a second, but his eyes soon met the shaking Millionairess' and there was a look ever so hateful it chilled the very soul of the Chef. The Chef quickly grabbed his lantern and turned around to open the door, he then began leading the two through the darkness to this supposed groundskeeper.

They reached a staircase that lead to the lower grounds. There is where Abe turned to the redheaded Millionairess.

"I think I see him," he informed.

Dawn began to warm up as she walked further and further away from the house. It was strange. . . .

After they walked down the steps they came upon the man Dawn had seen in her vision. He was digging something in a dark corner of the garden.

The Detective raised his gun. "Hey! Buddy! Hands where I can see 'em!" The man ceased his digging and stuck his shovel into the ground as the group approached him.

"Hey, my hands are where they're supposed to be. Unless, of course, you'd like to dig the hole for yourself." The Chef shined his light upon the man's face. 

"What the hell are you doing here?" George stepped up into the light.

"I'm the groundskeeper. I keep the ground, alright? I'd say look around. The ground is pretty well kept in this place, right?"

"I'm sorry, man, this  **dick**  made me bring him out here.  . . . And his partner scares me." Dawn was taken back. She scared the Chef? Now that is a twist that she did not expect to find in this mystery.

George looked over to Dawn and squinted, looking back at his friend. "That little thing?"

"Okay, you shut up," Abe commanded the Chef. "How do you not know about the murders-" Dawn trembled as lightning struck. She nearly fell down, but she luckily caught herself. She straightened herself and bared her teeth.

"What. . . have I said. . . ABOUT THAT WORD?!" The men of the group flinched at the Millionairess' sudden out burst.

George leaned over to the Chef. "I see what you mean."

"Look at her! This is Dawn Samson! Daughter of Kerrigan Samson! She has been here for one day and she's already a mess!" Abe pointed out.

Dawn scowled at the Detective. " _Watch it,_ " she hissed.

"Why should I care if celebrities are not what they seem outside of the public eye? This is her day off, she's not out and about town, advertising for some sort of company. Let her look however she wants."

"Alright, then how do you not hear all that lightning?" questioned Abe.

"Lightning is the sky's business! Look at the ground! When the ground starts shooting up lightning, I'll let you know!"

"Alright then, _smartass_ , why exactly are you digging that hole? And why shouldn't we suspect you for taking part in the death of your employer?" George laughed.

"Employers come and go! Some die, some don't, some are murdered," Dawn flinched, expecting pain and lightning, but none came. What is  **up**  with this guy? "Some are not. It's not my business! I'm digging this hole for a burst water pipe, if that's alright with your gracefulness!"

"See, I told you. George didn't do nothin', man!"

"See? I just did nothing." Dawn's expression softened as she felt a twinge of guilt.

"Forgive me for not taking you at face value," Abe said sarcastically. "But we're all gonna come inside, we're gonna sit down, and have a lovely chat. And get to the bottom of this before I lose my mind, and start dabbling in murder myself." This time Dawn finally fell down as the lighting struck the grounds. She sent daggers to the Detective as the Chef helped her up.

"Now, you listen to me, sonny. It's been fifteen years since I've been in that house. And I am not about to break that winning streak now. I don't care how many murders there've been. I ain't going near that house!" There was a very long pause before the Groundskeeper spoke again. "However, there is one reason. One incident. One manifestation. That will get me into that mad house." Dawn swallowed hard. "You had better pray to God that reason never comes to pass."

A thunderclap sounded as the house spewed out light from all of it's windows and cracks. "THAT THERE'S THE REASON!" Dawn's eyes widened as George and the Chef gunned it.

Dawn looked over at the Detective with panic and fear. Without a single word exchanged Abe hurriedly threw the Millionairess' arm over his shoulder and he pulled her along, quite forcefully toward the house. Dawn using her good leg to try to keep up with him.

The thunder roared on as they entered the house. The tension rising. Their hearts pounding hard in their chests. Dawn just hoped that her friends were alright. She can't lose anymore. She can't.

George and the Chef ran off somewhere and Abe lead the way to the source of the sudden light. Fear spiked Dawn as they began to make their way to the dark room where they left Celine and Damien. She prayed that they were maybe,  **maybe** in another room. She hoped that they were safe as she rushed up the stairs. She didn't even notice Abe was no longer supporting her. 

The Detective stopped at the corner, gun in hand. "Go, go, go!" Dawn brushed pass the Colonel as she ran toward the door, her palms sweaty, skin pale, and adrenaline pumping through her. 

The door was emitting colorful light from it's cracks, but it was not welcoming in the slightest. There was something behind that door. And Dawn could tell it was not friendly. But, before she could even place her hand onto the knob it swung open, a powerful force causing Dawn to fall down onto her back.

Celine stood alone, bringing forth the threatening light. She almost seemed. . . possessed.

Dawn eyes widened with fear. "C-Ce-Celi-" George went for the door, trying to close it as the colors surrounding the Seer began to morph.

"Somebody help me!" George yelled over the sound of Dawn's heart that was trying to pound out of her chest.

The purple that surrounded the Seer divided, now red and blue, like the screen of a television. As a result Celine turned a dark gray color.

The door closed shut before Dawn even knew it. The panic was over. The threat was gone just as Celine and Damien were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting into the dark stuff now. I wonder what will happen next time. . . ;)  
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed! Don't be afraid to comment onto my work and share this to a friend you'd think that will like this.


	9. The Accident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It was an accident! I swear!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be prepared, folks.

George locked the door as Dawn lay still, frozen on the ground. Still in shock of what just happened. Damien was gone as well as Celine who just moments ago appeared to try to harm the Millionairess. Or. . . at least something that looked like Celine.

Realization suddenly hit Dawn like a harsh slap to the face. She got up onto her feet and began pounding on the door.

"Celine! CELINE! DAMIEN!" 

"Hey! HEY!" yelled George as he tried to pry the Millionairess away from the door. But she kept persisting, tears welling up in her eyes.

"NO! NO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" She banged on the door. "CELIIINE! DAMIEEEN!" Tears were now running down her cheeks that once were rosy and showed life. But were now as pale as a ghost.

Abe walked in onto the scene, gun in hand. He lowered it and rushed over to the Millionairess.

"Partner!" With both Abe and George they managed to pull her away from the door.

"No!" She bawled into her hands.

"What the hell is going on?" spoke the Colonel as he entered. "Dawn?" Dawn looked up at the Colonel before breaking away from Abe's and George's grip to rush over to William, pulling him into a tight embrace, crying into his shoulder. Colonel was shocked that this happening, he has rarely seen the Millionairess like this throughout their years of friendship. Damien or Mark would usually deal with her emotions, and if not them then Celine.

William didn't know how to help her. So he just gave her an awkward pat on the back and a long moment before he pushed her away. "What happened? Where's Celine? Where's Damien?"

"They're gone, and so is everyone else," spoke George in a calm voice as he headed for the exit.

"Wait a minute, where the hell do you think you're going?!" asked the Detective as the Chef and the Butler entered.

"Away from here! This place is cursed! If you'd half a brain, you'd all do the same." The Colonel broke away from the crying Millionairess so that he may yell at the Groundskeeper.

"Don't walk away from me! Where's Celine? Where's Damien?!" Dawn hurriedly wiped away the hot tears that were pouring from her eyes, trying to calm herself down and remain professional. She didn't want to cause anymore of a panic.

"I've spent 25 years cooking for these uppity fucks," said the Chef to the Colonel. "I'm not about to die for 'em! I quit! Bitch!" The Chef stormed off in a fit of rage. After he did so the Butler approached William in a much more calmer demeanor.

"I know things seem far beyond your control right now, but such that it is for all of us here. I shall take my leave, and I implore you all to do the same." The Colonel, his face going red with anger, leaned closer to the Butler.

"I won't let my friends die in this godforsaken house!" The Colonel turned around to stare down the Detective and the Millionairess. "And if you all are too much of a coward to do the same, you had best leave before I kill you myself!" Dawn felt more tears begin to collect in her eyes as William went to storm off.

If only Damien and Celine were here. They could calm him down if they were here. But, Dawn knew could never ease the nerves someone like William. 

What was the point in trying to do it anyway? He was just going to march off somewhere and shoot something to blow off steam then he'll just walk away like nothing ever happened. He's always done it and he always will.

The Detective went after the Colonel, grabbing him by his shoulder as he tried to leave. "Now you hold on a second, I got more questions-" William shook off the Detective.

"Get your hands off me!" William ran off, Abe hot on his tail.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Abe asked before he disappeared around the corner.

Dawn turned to the Butler, eyes filled to the brim with tears, but she did not let them spill. She put on a stern expression and crossed her arms over her chest, trying to look as if nothing was bothering her.

"I know he's in pain and I know you are too, Ms.-"

"Please, we've gone through so much together - just call me Dawn."

". . . Dawn, no matter how much you're hurting right now, we need to leave this place. There's only death here now." Dawn looked down at the floor and stared it down. The Butler was right, she should leave. This house has brought her nothing but despair. But, it also took away her friends. And she could not just give up so easily.

"Hey!" whispered a woman from beside her. Dawn turned around at the sound of the voice, hoping it to be Celine.

"Celine?" But, there was nothing. Nobody was near her.

"Help!" Dawn turned around again and the house had changed. It seemed much darker than it was before.

A soft heartbeat sounded throughout the house. "Madness! You wanna talk about madness?" Dawn furrowed her eyebrows at the sound of the distorted Detective's voice. She looked around for him, but yet again he  **wasn't** there. "Madness is stealing your best friend's wife." It sounded like. . . he was talking to the Colonel.

Dawn was scared. Dawn was creeped out. All she wanted to do right now is run out the door, screaming. But, she knew if she did she will  **never** forgive herself. The guilt of her friend's death will forever hang above her head and it will drive her  **mad**. So, she pushed on, holding Damien's jacket tightly to her body. It now not only gave her the little warmth she needed to push on, but it gave her the comfort and support that Damien once gave her.

When she got to the top of the staircase she could practically _see_   the Mayor standing there, worry riddling his expression, clutching his cane anxiously. "Be careful!" Dawn nodded as she moved passed him and made her descent down the stairs.

"I will."

As she was walking down the stairs the atmosphere sort of twisted. It was still dark and creepy, yet there was a sudden feeling of welcoming as a voice came through. "Now this evening, it's not all about the poker; it's not all about me." It was Mark, giving his speech right before poker night began.

Dawn scowled at this memory. "What  _was it_ about then, Mark?" she snapped. "Don't think I believe it was the 'about me' bullshit."

Dawn was angry with Mark. If he just didn't plan this damned poker night Damien might still be alive. Celine might still be alive. Hell, he might still be alive. Or maybe not. Dawn wouldn't care either way, she just wanted her friends back. Even if she might have never gotten to see them again they would be alive and they would be okay. And that's all that Dawn wanted.

Dawn reached the room that connected to the dining room. "Can't we resolve this amicably?" asked Damien.

Dawn looked down sadly as she shuffled along.

She shook her head slowly. "No, we couldn't."

"Life needs a bit of madness, eh, chap?" The Millionairess grimaced.

"Agree to disagree," she mumbled.

"Good to let the beast out every once in a while, eh?" 

"It comes with a price. It  _always_ comes with a price." Dawn reached the dining room where they held the meeting with Celine. The Millionairess thought of how supportive Damien was of her throughout the whole day. And she never thanked him. This fact hurt her more than anything.

"I'm not gonna just sit around and let you drag my partner off to her very likely death!" declared Abe.

Dawn went through the kitchen, not even flinching this time at the Chef's threat. "I thought I told you to stay out of my kitchen!" She passed by the entrance to the wine cellar.

"A domain of evil this is. . . but in we must go." She finally reached an office where the heartbeat was louder than ever. "You first. . . ." Feeling enticed she entered the room and everything turned back to normal. The voices went silent, the room brightened, and the heartbeat slowly faded away.

The office was a mess. There was paper strewn about and items seemed to be squeezed in wherever they can. Dawn picked up a paper that just had "The Colonel" scrolled all over it. Dawn furrowed her eyebrows as she placed it back down. She then passed by a news clip of the Colonel's safari. She grimaced, remembering the stories he told of it.

There was a board that showed everyone that attended poker night and their files. Like the Samson's rise to success and everything they had to do to get there. . . . Dawn put on a face of absolute disgust.

She turned to the typewriter and it just read "The Colonel did it" over and over again. Dawn shook her head in disbelief. How could someone believe this? William was. . . hostile at times, yes. But he couldn't have done it. He  **couldn't** have done it.  . . . Could he?

There were tons of books and pictures, one of the pictures being the one of William's that was found in Mark's room. Dawn put on a stern face, picking up the photo. Hoping that it will bring William to her. She needed to talk with him, more than anything.

She held it up to her face, taking in a deep breath. She then took it away, expecting him to show up, but he didn't. She furrowed her eyebrows, looking down at the photo.

"There you are, Samson!" Dawn turned to see William standing in the doorway. "I've been meaning to ask you some questions. . . ." William trailed off as he looked at the mess that was Abe's office.

Dawn put her hands out as to caution the Colonel. "William. . . don't freak out, but-"

"What is this?" he asked as he picked up the news clip.

"William, if you will just listen to me for a second I can-"

"The Detective's been keeping tabs on us?" Dawn nodded.

"Yes. But-"

"The Detective's been keeping tabs on me. And Celine!" Colonel walked closer and closer to the board, making Dawn more and more nervous.

William is her friend. William would never harm her. Right?

Dawn swallowed hard. "Yes, but, William-"

"He's the one who orchestrated all of this!"

"William, please, just listen to me for once!" The Colonel turned to the Millionairess. "I need to talk to you. Really talk to you. No more distractions. No more games." William looked at the Millionairess up and down.

"If I didn't know any better I would say you are growing suspicious of me, Samson." Dawn's expression did not change in the slightest.

She took in a very shaky breath as a trickle of sweat traveled down the side of her face. She was going to speak when William's eyes traveled over to the page that just said "The Colonel did it" over and over again. Dawn froze as he pulled it out of the typewriter and narrowed his eyes at Dawn. 

"Do you really believe this rubbish?" he asked as he took a step closer to Dawn.

He was now acting like he was on one of his hunts, slowly closing in on his prey before taking the perfect shot. It was much more amusing when Dawn wasn't the prey.

"William, I just want to know for sure."

"I want to know as well, Samson." He cornered Dawn, waving the paper in his hands. "Do you believe that I did it?" Dawn wanted to tell him no. She wanted to believe that he didn't with all of her heart. But there's only three people who could have possibly done it. And only one of them was crazy enough to do it.

"William, there is only three of us left. I was too hammered that night to get away with a murder and if that's not enough proof then Damien would have said something. So that leaves you and-"

"The Detective."

"Yes, and-"

"That's it." Dawn furrowed her eyebrows.

"What?" The Colonel turned away from the Millionairess, putting the paper aside and reaching for his gun.

"Detective!" He walked out of the room, gun out.

"Wait, William!"

"Detective!" Dawn ran after him as he made his way upstairs. "Where is he? He took them from me. . . ."

"William, I'm sure if we can just talk this through-"

"He took my friends from me."

"William-" The Colonel by now reached the top of the stairs and was now checking multiple doors, searching for the Detective.

"He took. . . Celine. He took Damien!"

"William, please, if you will just listen to me for once!"

"Where is he?" He poked his head into a room, but found nothing. "DETECTIVE!" After he checked another room he turned to the Millionairess. "Are you hiding him from me?!"

"No! I wouldn't-" William brushed pass Dawn as he went to check yet another room. She placed a hand onto his shoulder. "William,  _ **please**_ , just-" The Colonel turned around and pushed Dawn away from him, causing her to stagger.

"STAY OUT OF MY WAY!" Dawn ran after William as he finally found Abe, exiting a room across the hall. "DETECTIVE!" The Colonel raised his gun as The Detective pulled out his own, the two making their way toward one another. Dawn brushed pass the Colonel and got in between the two of them.

"Gentlemen! Can we please just talk for a moment and work things out-?" Abe pushed the Millionairess back behind him.

"Stay out of this partner." Abe raised his gun at the Colonel, preparing to shoot at any moment. "You'd better choose your next words carefully, Colonel." Dawn stood helplessly on the sidelines as the Colonel ever so slowly closed in on Abe.

"Guys, please-"

"Only my friends get to call me by that name, and you, sir, are no friend of mine!" Dawn's heart pounded as the tension rose at alarming rates. If only someone were here with her to help. 

"Well, you're one to talk about friends, you MURDERER!" Dawn grabbed the wall for support as a lightning strike hit the grounds.

"Abe, please, don't do this. . ." she pleaded weakly, but to no avail. 

"I didn't kill anybody! This is madness!"

"Oh, you wanna talk about madness? Madness is stealing your best friend's wife. Madness is squeezing him for cash to fund your own sick sexual exploits with that very woman-"

"Madness is turning against each other when there's no need to!" snapped Dawn.

Colonel pushed her to the ground. "STAY OUT OF THIS!" Abe surprisingly didn't react to this, he continued with his speech of madness, causing the thunder storm to rage on.

"Madness is plotting the death of your childhood friend because you can't handle the-" In that moment everything seemed to go in slow motion. William blinked, his twitchy finger slipped, pulling the trigger and shooting Abe in the gut. Abe fell a moment later. And out of pure instinct Dawn sprung to her feet and tried to pry the gun away from the Colonel. He struggled against her, holding onto his beloved weapon for dear life. He managed to turn her around so her back was facing the balcony.

William's finger slipped once more, shooting Dawn. Dawn froze at the sudden pain, looking down in absolute horror. A piercing ring in her ears.

She placed her palm to the wound and took it away, to indeed see blood. She looked up to William to see that he was completely shocked. Dawn's eyes rolled up in her head as the last few breaths of air escaped her body. She fell from the balcony having the last words she will ever hear is:

"It was an accident! I swear!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! We have one more chapter of this work to go and I think you all know what it is. Unless, you're evil like moi and showed this to a friend who has never seen WKM. If a friend did put you up to reading this, your friends sound like a ton of fun, I would love to meet them. And hang on tight, you're in for a bumpy ride.  
> Also I apologize for any typos, I am sleep deprived and I'm trying to get these chapters out as fast as possible. I might go back to fix all of them in each chapter, but I gotta pace myself. If you do see any, tell me, it will make my life a lot easier.  
> Also, don't be afraid to criticize my writing, I really do enjoy getting advice for my work.


	10. The End?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There's truly no happy ending for any of us, is there?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It actually broke my heart rewriting the ending scene of WKM.  
> Please, enjoy my suffering.

Darkness. Darkness as far as the eye can see. There was no light. No heaven. No hell. No purgatory. Or was this purgatory? Wait, no, no, Dawn's not  _dead_. She can't be dead. How could she be dead? If she's dead then how can she be here? Here in the Void.

A soft thud sounded in the Void as Mark's body appeared before Dawn. She flinched at the sight of it.

His eyes darkened as it looked up to her, expressionless. "It's not fair, is it?" it asked, it's voice, echoing and disappearing into the Void.

Dawn's jaw clenched as she took a more defensive stance.

She stared down the body, hate in her eyes. "You did this. . . didn't you?"

The body didn't answer, it just laid there, lifeless. "You organized the poker night. You brought us all here. Just to put us against each other. You planned for all of this to happen. Didn't you?" Still, no answer. "I don't even want to know how, I just want to know why. Why did you do this?" When Dawn received no answer her eyes began to fill with tears. " _Why?"_   Tears began to run down her face as she fell to her knees, sobbing, her tears falling into the endless pit of the Void. She looked up and screamed "WHY?!" But, once again, received no answer, she dropped her head and continued her crying. "What did I do? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Absolutely nothing," spoke Damien.

Dawn looked up to see none other than Damien and Celine, replacing the body that once laid where they stood. Auras of color surrounding each one of them. Damien being blue and Celine being red.

Dawn smiled through her tears as she got up onto her feet.

She pulled the two into a hug. "I thought I'd never see you two again!" They both hugged her back before Dawn pulled away. Damien had a sympathetic smile on his face while Celine looked down at her feet, almost in guilt. Dawn laughed nervously as she ran a hand through her curly red hair. "I had so much to say to you, but I. . . I don't even know what to say to the two of you now that you're here."

Celine picked up her head before speaking. "Listen, we would both love to stay and chat with you. But we don't have a lot of time and there's a lot that we need to explain." Dawn's smile faded as she looked between the two. Damien's smile had dropped and they both seemed very distraught.

"Please, go ahead." 

"Mark took everything from us. He trapped us in here with this broken shell and no way out," explained Damien in outrage.

"My god, that's worse than I imagined."

"And it's true," spoke Celine. "This whole time I thought it was the house but. . . I never thought he'd fall this far." 

"And we played right into his hands," said Damien.

"Why would Mark do this?" Damien sighed.

"It was his revenge against the Colonel." Damien screwed up his face. "He'd been planning it for years and now that son of a bitch is out there walking around in  **my** body-" Celine stopped Damien from getting too out of hand.

"Damien, we can't do this right now. We don't have much time now as it is." Celine then turned to Dawn. "Look, I know you still have questions and I can't answer everything right now. Just know that Mark took everything from us for his twisted quest of vengeance." Dawn nodded, taking in the information. "But death does not mean the same thing here." Dawn was confused by this statement.

"It doesn't?"

"To put it simply, it doesn't have to be the end," spoke Damien. "You're trapped in here just the same as us, but your body. . . broken as it may be, it's still out there." Dawn raised her eyebrows at this.

"But. . . how-"

"Mark's not the only one that can use this place to his benefit," explained Celine. "The same way that I brought you here, is the same way that I can send you back."

"But you can't survive on your own. You're dead, after all. The Colonel saw to that." Dawn frowned at that.

"My god, William. . . ." Dawn had almost forgotten that William had killed her. But, it's not like he meant it. William has killed many things over his lifetime, humans being one of them. But, he could never kill his friends. . . at least not on purpose.

"You can't blame him. You know him, he's really a good man," Celine defended, in which Dawn nodded agreeably. "But he's dangerous now."

"I know this all sounds crazy. Honestly, I don't know what the fuck is going on." Dawn laughed a bit.

"I know the feeling all too well, Damien." Damien gave a very weak smile.

"So I trust you know that we are telling the truth."

"Of course."

"Then. . . if you trust us. . . . Just. . . let me in." The two flickered like a dying light as Damien said this. It was odd, Dawn would have to say, but so was just about everything. "We can fix this." Damien grabbed Dawn's hand with both of his and looked her straight in the eyes. "Together." 

"Dawn," Dawn turned to Celine who was wearing a very cautious look. "Just know, that we aren't forcing this on you. You have a choice here. Just know this is the only way that you can escape." Dawn smiled widely.

"Celine, I'm already on board. Let's do this."

"Alright. Take a step back then." Dawn did as instructed, letting go of Damien and taking a step away from the two. "Now just relax." Dawn took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, preparing for whatever may happen.

"This'll work. I promise," assured Damien.

"I know."

* * *

The Millionairess awoke to the sound of thunder. She jolted at the sudden sensation of coming back to life. The world around her, bleak and disoriented. It was red, blue, and dark for a long moment before it reverted back to it's normal form. She sat up, her body sore and aching, but she forced herself to keep moving. Focusing on her new purpose. She grabbed onto a small table and pulled herself up onto her feet, her knees buckled at the sudden weight, but she soon learned to balance herself and was able to stand up.

She turned around to see none other than William, sitting in a chair, Damien's cane in hand. He was stripped of his hat and his jacket, having his yellow dress shirt and his red suspenders revealed. His cheeks were stained with tears. Dawn jumped back at the sight of him, grabbing the table that held a center piece as support.

He put out a cautionary hand. "Oh, no! No! It's okay," he assured as he stood up slowly, a smile growing on his face. He stood there, astonished. "You're alive. I-I thought you were dead," he explained as he approached the Millionairess.

Dawn opened her mouth to speak, but found that she couldn't. She tried to say something, but she only choked. "Oh, no, it's okay. You don't have to speak." He sounded as if he was going to laugh. "You're not dead. I-I-I mean, of course you're not dead! You're not - how could you be dead?" Dawn wanted to speak ever so badly to him. She wanted to tell him of what happened. Of what she heard, what she had seen. How it's not his fault. "I mean, I-I wouldn't have killed you. I-I didn't kill you." He spoke as if the answer was obvious and he was just being dull.

Dawn looked to William sadly. The poor man. 

William went over to a table and set down Damien's cane, muttering happily as he did so. Dawn didn't think that she has ever seen him so relieved. "I didn't kill anybody!" William laughed. "I didn't - It was all a joke!" he said as if he finally revealed the big mystery. "Of course, it was all a joke! Were you in on this?!" He clasped Dawn on the shoulder. "Oh, Dawn, you rascal, you! Did Damien put you up to this? Of course he did!

"You two really are a humorous couple!" William wandered about, looking for people who weren't there. "Damien, where are you, you rapscallion?" Dawn watched as he walked off, searching for friends that were gone. "Where are you? Celine?" His voice seemed to be losing it's refined tone and he started to slur. "Ah, it's time to come out now!"

Dawn involuntarily turned to Damien's cane. She reached out, feeling as if she were possessed. She looked down at her hand quizzically. It was not her own. . . it was Celine's. "It was good, it was good! You almost had me!" Dawn grabbed onto it, her hand changing into a much more masculine one. Damien. "Celine?"

William's voice was replaced with that awful ringing. She felt the presence with her once again. . . only it was closer somehow. . . . Like it was _with_ her. 

Dawn looked up into the mirror to see that she no longer had her body. She had Damien's.

They were now wearing different clothing. Instead of Dawn's dress it was a deconstructed form of Damien's suit. But, they still had Damien's jacket on. It looked as if they had just woken up from a horrible hangover. Their hair a mess, the buttoned up shirt with a button undone, and sunken eyes. 

They looked to the cane before cracking their broken neck. This caused the mirror to break and everything to turn dark. The world was once again decorated in red, blue, and darkness. The being in front of the mirror especially. They straightened their suit jacket before scowling at their reflection. They then turned around to leave, but. . . Dawn wasn't seeing the world in first person anymore. No. She was seeing it through the mirror!

She looked around to see that she was in the Void once more. She ran up to the broken mirror and pounded onto the glass.

"Wait! Wait! Where are you going?!" The being paused right before they walked out the door, but did not turn around.

"I'm getting away from here. Like I should I have done a very long time ago." They spoke much like the thing that Dawn had came across multiple times in this house.

"Why are you doing this?! I trusted you two!"

"Actually," the thing turned around, a smug look on it's face. "You only trusted me." Dawn squinted in confusion. "Oh, I'm sorry, I should have expected that a little rich girl like you couldn't understand. Here, allow me to dumb it down for you. I took the forms of the Seer and your beloved Mayor in order to take control. Since, you weren't as willing to listen to me our last encounter." Dawn placed a hand over the scar on her leg. The thing chuckled as it went for exit once again.

"Wait! What did you do to Damien and Celine?! Where are they?!" Dawn could see it's shoulders tense.

It sighed. "Like the Groundskeeper said they are gone. There is only dark now."

"What did you do to them?!" The being whipped around, hate written all over their face.

"They were in need of my help! I gave them it!" The world around it seemed to glitch as Dawn looked to the being with a mix of disbelief and mortification.

"So you killed them?!" The being rolled it's eyes.

"They're not _dead_. They're just gone." Dawn furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What's the difference?" The being sighed.

"Look, I don't have time to explain the entirety of paranormal activity to you!" The being turned around to leave once again, but was stopped by Dawn.

"DAMIEN!" she screamed, faking the desperation in her voice. It stopped and turned around, anger no longer in it's expression. Annoyance, yes, but also a somewhat gentleness. The gentleness of Damien. Dawn grinned from ear to ear. "I knew it. They're still in there."

The being sighed in defeat as it glared at Dawn. "Just **what** do you want from me?"

"I want to ask my friends a few questions. I want to hear what _**they**_ have to say. No bullshit." The being looked to her as if she was crazy. "Come on, I know they're in there."

"And why should I give you what you want?"

"Because I know Damien and Celine won't stop screaming at you until you do." The being seemed pissed as it straightened the jacket. Dawn crossed her arms and smirked in triumph.

"You have five minutes."

"That's all I need." The being froze for a second, their expression going blank. They soon came back, wearing a very somber expression. They walked up to the mirror, seeming much less demonic as they were before. "Damien? Celine?"

"Yes, yes, we're here. We're here." Dawn smiled in relief and laughed a bit.

"I'm so relieved. Okay, I just need to ask you two one question."

"Of course."

"Can you get me out of here?" They looked down, clutching Damien's can nervously. Dawn's smile faded. "Guys?"

"We can't."

"What?"

"We are too weak to get you out. And besides, it's not like it will let us." Dawn no longer had her confidence, she was now distraught.

"Why? Why won't it let you?"

"It-it just won't, we're sorry."

"So you two are just going to leave me here to rot in this mirror while you walk around my body?"

"Dawn, it's not like we have a choice." Dawn sat down, hugging her knees to her chest, looking down at the endless abyss of the Void.

"There's truly no happy ending for any of us, is there?" Her eyes were glossed over as new tears began to build up behind her eyes.

"I'm afraid not. Not now at least." Dawn rolled her eyes.

"Like we still have time to fix it." They grasped the cane anxiously as they searched for the right thing to say. They lightly chuckled and looked up at her with a very small smile.

"We know this is corny, but, the sun  _will_ come up, Dawn. We can feel it." Dawn couldn't help but chuckle a bit at this.

"You guys are right, that  _is_ corny."

"But, it is true. Just. . . wait." Dawn placed a hand onto the broken mirror.

"I'll miss you two, truly I will." They placed their hand onto the other side of the mirror as well, cautious as to not harm themselves.

"We will too, Dawn." At that moment, Dawn truly did believe what they said. She felt a new hope rise from within her. "And Dawn,"

"Yes?"

"Before we go, we - . . .  _Damien_   would like to say that, he loves you, he always has and. . . he always will." Dawn smiled sadly.

"I love you too, Damien." And she meant this. She truly did mean this.

Soon Damien and Celine went and the being returned. It seemed disgusted. It took away it's hand from the mirror, looking over itself once before taking off Damien's "Mayor" button and throwing it onto the ground. It then took it's leave and this time, Dawn didn't stop it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope my start-off Darkiplier was okay. I took in consideration that part of the house is Dark and so that's why they are a dick at first. But as time goes on they will all soon combine into one entity rather than being completely different people in one body.  
> And if you enjoyed this work, please, if you haven't already stop by Mark's channel and watch WKM for yourself as well as some of his other wonderful creations.  
> But, anyway, that is the end of this part of the series! I really did enjoy writing this work and I can't wait until I get to part 2! But, I think I'm just going to take a little break before writing part 2.  
> I hope you guys enjoyed The Sun Will Come Up as much as I did. I'll see you next time!


End file.
